A Black Affair
by eccino
Summary: Arranged marriages were really something that everyone should be used to.
1. Chapter 1: The Problem With Andromeda

**_Disclaimer: _**_We all know that I don't own the Malfoy's, the Black's, or anyone else from Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfics, would I? I just get to hold their leashes._**  
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**Chapter One:**  
The Problem With Andromeda

Arranged weddings were something that people of high caliber and proper pedigree were used to. There was no such thing as love, and even if there was such a silly emotion, it was not meant for the daughters of the house of Black. There were three of them. The eldest, Bellatrix, had accepted her scheduled marriage to one Mr. Rodolphus Lestrange, and so it had gone off without a hitch. What was best was that the two seemed to somewhat get along. Their parents had matched temperaments perfectly there. The youngest, Narcissa, had also accepted her fate. She understood that, once the holidays were over and the remainder of her seventh and final year at Hogwarts was completed, she had two weeks before her own wedding to the Greengrass boy. She understood and intended to carry out her duty, no matter how that boy made her crinkle her nose in disgust. She, like Bellatrix, was a proper daughter. Which was why neither of them could explain what their middle sister, Andromeda's, problem could possibly be.

It wasn't as though it was a bad match. They were roughly the same age, only a year difference with him being the younger. He was rich beyond anyone's dreams. And yet, the wedding of Andromeda Black and Lucius Malfoy was constantly being put off. There was always some ill-concocted reason for it: she couldn't find the perfect dress, the flowers she wanted were out of season, the hall she wanted to hold it in (screw Malfoy manor, according to her, she'd have to live there and didn't want all her wedding pictures featuring the place) was booked for the date that she wanted, she'd have to pick a whole new date for that, it seemed that hall was booked for forever, the shrimp that had been put together were all just too small, new ones would need to be caught and cooked – never mind that they were shrimp and shrimp were supposed to be small.

None of them had any idea how Mr. Malfoy was putting up with it all. On the outward, he was everything a gentleman was supposed to be. But after two years of having the wedding put off, the man was tired of being embarrassed so. His last visit to the Black house had been a rather strained one. He and Malfoy Sr. had paid their usual visit with Andromeda, Cygnus, and Druella in the parlor. Narcissa kept out of it, no matter how much curiosity picked at her to find out what was going on. Eavesdropping wasn't something a proper lady did. However, proper ladies were usually older than sixteen.

The young woman had made her way down through the house and carefully settled just outside the door of the room to listen in to their conversation. There was plenty enough time for her to get out of the way should they decide to come out. Besides, she could easily hide in a little nook made by a post in the wall that jutted out and the bust of some dead relative. Besides, this was an important visit. She couldn't just ignore it. Especially with the way that voices were already being raised.

"It's been two years, Cygnus!" the loud voice of Malfoy Sr. made its way to her ears as she raised her eyebrows. "Two years of having the wedding put off for one ridiculous reason or another! It's an embarrassment! How much longer do you intend to allow your daughter to put off this wedding!"

"Abraxas! Come now, do you really think this yelling will help anything?" returned Cygnus, pausing a moment. The Malfoy men tended to have such terrible tempers. "Can you really blame Andromeda for wanting her wedding to be perfect?"

"Yes! I can! With all the money I've invested and, thus far, lost for this 'perfect wedding'? I can blame anyone I want to for it!" he snapped furiously, obviously taking no concern for Mr. Black's request to avoid the yelling. Druella interrupted with something, but Narcissa could not hear what her mother said, merely that it was followed by the scraping of chairs as the two elder men clearly resettled down into their seats.

"Now that we've all calmed down," Druella preceded, Narcissa having had to creep closer to the door so that she could hear her mother properly. "What is it, exactly, that you propose we do, Mr. Malfoy, to solve this… little disagreement?"

"It has been decided that this wedding will not be put off any longer, for whatever reasons your daughter can come up with. The wedding will take place this Saturday. There will be no hall; the gardens at the Malfoy Manor will do just fine. She's had enough time to find her dress. There will be no more delays," Abraxas said, almost so softly that Narcissa, close as she was, could barely hear him. But at that, she took it that the meeting was over. She got up quickly as she heard chairs moving as people got up and retreated into her hiding spot, tucking herself as far back in as possible. She barely caught a glimpse of the occupants of the room leaving, Andromeda first and in a rather hurry to disappear into her bedroom, the Malfoy's heading down through the house to the front door and out, and Druella and Cygnus muttering under their breath to each other before Druella headed to prepare dinner and Cygnus headed off to his own private study to do something or other for the remainder of the afternoon.

* * *

The rest of the evening had gone by in relative silence. The four of them had a strained dinner together, Andromeda refusing to speak to either one of her parents at first, Narcissa merely trying to keep any attention off of her. Neither Cygnus nor Druella seemed to care that their remaining daughter was so silent. As far as they were concerned, Andromeda was disgracing them with the continuous delay of her wedding and the Malfoy's were right to put a stop to her silly actions. And when it came to Narcissa, they didn't really have all that much to talk about. The only thing that concerned them about their youngest daughter was her grades, and they weren't really that much of a concern to begin with. It was as if she wasn't there as they started arguing about the wedding upcoming that Saturday night.

"I'm telling you, I refuse. I will not marry Lucius this Saturday, that is far too soon!" Andromeda protested, fork sitting on her barely touched plate.

"Too soon?" Cygnus repeated, blinking as he attempted to make sense of that one. "How do you get that this is too soon! You've been delaying for nearly two years now! Lucius has put up with more than enough humiliation at your hands, you should just be glad that his family hasn't completely called it off yet."

"Glad? You really think that I should be glad, father? I don't want to marry him at all and you find it a good thing that he's still going to settle for me?" she asked sharply, glaring across the table. She didn't even know why Lucius was still going to settle. She knew full well, as did everyone else, that he would be having affairs. The only thing Andromeda would be there for would be to have his child. Undoubtedly it had something to do with the Black family lineage. That had to be the only thing of interest.

Druella looked full ready to slap her middle child. "Andromeda, you shut your mouth right this minute. You seem fully determined to put this family to shame and your father and I will not allow that to happen. Come Saturday evening, you will be marrying Lucius Malfoy. Your father and I let you stay home for far too long, we have over-coddled you. By Sunday, you will no longer have a home here."

Andromeda looked between her parents in shock. Well, if that was how they wanted to play the game, then so be it. Her plans laid a little over two years ago would merely need to be rushed. She pushed her chair back from the table.

"Fine. If you'll excuse me, I fear I've lost my appetite," she said coolly, not waiting for a response from either parent as she got up and left the dining room.

Narcissa spared a frown after her sister, growing uncomfortable as her parents set their gaze upon her. She shifted lightly in her seat, uncrossing and then re-crossing her legs in the opposite direction. It hadn't taken very long for the air to settle into a less hostile mood and Druella picked up the usual dinner conversation. "So, Narcissa. How are your studies coming along?"

* * *

Narcissa had been eager to escape that dinner and, as soon as it was over, she found herself upstairs in her own bedroom, relaxing in the quiet that was up there. There was no one shouting, no one complaining, and, best of all, no one to interrupt her bath. She'd gathered her things, her nightclothes, and headed off to lock herself in the bathroom, filling the tub with hot water, followed by her favorite smells before slipping under the bubbles and settling in with a small sigh. It hadn't taken very long for her to end up falling asleep in the water.

It was with a start that she woke several hours later in the now cold water, which was minus the bubbles. What had woken her up, she wasn't sure. She wasn't even sure how long she had been in there. However, the deep wrinkles that covered her hands and feet were an indication that it had been clearly too long. Shivering, she drained out the tub, rinsed off in warmer water, and got out, dressing quickly. It didn't help to warm her, but it was something. She left the bathroom, dropping her things off in her room with a glance at the wall clock. 2:33. She had been in there for far too long.

After brushing her hair back, she headed downstairs to fetch a cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows. Extra marshmallows. And whipped cream. And that's exactly what was on her mind when she walked headfirst into a large object in the hallway. She stepped back with a frown to see what was blocking her way to find a man standing there, giving her a confused look. Before she could say anything, Andromeda came out of the nearest door – which led to her bedroom – several items in her hands. There was also a trunk sitting out in the hallway.

"Ted, I can't seem to find the parchment. I need to at least leave a letter. Do you know whether it's all in the tr-" Andromeda was saying distractedly before noticing that he wasn't paying attention. But it was what distracted him that made Andromeda frown deeply. Her younger sister. That was not a good thing. "Cissy. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Narcissa huffed at that. In bed? How old did Andromeda think she was? "I could ask you the same question," she snapped, glancing over at the other before turning her attention back to the man she didn't recognize. "Who're you?"

Ted, who felt fairly uncomfortable, looked over to Andromeda with a frown and no clue as to what to say. Andromeda seemed to not notice and was quickly putting herself between them. "Cissy, just calm down. This is Ted. He's just… helping me."

"Helping you to what?" Narcissa asked sharply, lip curled slightly in distaste at Ted for just being there. What could Andromeda possibly need help with?

"To leave," the older said with a shake of her head and, before the protest could start, had cast a silencing charm on her sister. "I am not marrying Lucius Malfoy. I am not going to be stuck spending the rest of my life playing the happy little wife to that man. And you are not going to get in my way," she said coldly, shaking her head.

Narcissa was clearly furious and would be yelling on the top of her lungs if she hadn't been silenced so quickly. Andromeda was disgracing the family. Someone had to stop it, talk some sense in to her.

"I'm sorry, Cissy. You'll understand some day, I'm sure," Andromeda added on, regarding her sister sadly before raising her wand once more and, in a flash of red, stunned her. With her sister out of the way, Andromeda finished her packing, left that letter, and was soon off with Theodore Tonks, her real fiancé. 


	2. Chapter 2: Revenge

_**Disclaimer:** We all know that I don't own the Malfoy's, the Black's, or anyone else from Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfics, would I? I just get to hold their leashes._

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**Chapter Two:**  
Revenge

It had been two days since Druella had found her youngest daughter stunned and silenced before the bedroom door of Andromeda and proceeded to find out what her second oldest child had done. In those two days, her sister-in-law, Walburga, had blasted Andromeda's name off a tapestry that showed the lineage of the house of Black. The Malfoys had been notified of the situation and they were anything but happy with this. As if it hadn't been embarrassing enough having that girl put it off for two years, she had to go and run off with some muggle (wizard or not, he was no better than some filthy little muggle) to complete the humiliation that both families felt. Andromeda's room had been torn apart by Cygnus when he'd hit his full rage, and then permanently sealed off, her name burned off the wood. Howlers had been sent, though if they reached their destination, no one was sure of, as there was no response – not that Narcissa had expected her sister to respond to any of them. Bellatrix had come home after the first few hours with her husband in tow, furious that her younger sister had done something so disgraceful and intent to remove all reference of the 'filthy blood traitor' that she could find before attempting to reassure her parents that Andromeda wasn't a necessary component and all would be fine in the end. Narcissa had been furious that she'd been silenced and stunned and had left a few things out when recalling things to her father, but then had to return to doing her homework, which did a very good job in distracting her otherwise. And Druella, who was taking it far worse than anyone, had stopped eating and now spent most of her time crying up in the master bedroom. To find her out of the bedroom was a rare thing.

But they did have things they needed to get done. The Malfoys were expected to be coming today to try and settle the debt that Andromeda had left them in. A debt that would probably leave Cygnus and Druella holed up with Orion, Walburga, and their two sons while Narcissa finished school. And so Cygnus had set Narcissa with the task of rousing her mother and making her get dressed and cleaned up rather than dealing with it himself.

* * *

It wasn't as if he had particularly _wanted _to marry that woman. There were so many points about her that annoyed him to no end. Her independence drove him mad, the way she had never seemed to be able to hold her tongue and had clearly never learned what not to say. She was frequently wearing pants (what decent woman wore pants?) and t-shirts as if she were a lowly muggle rather than a proud, pureblooded witch. She never wore make up, nor did she ever do anything to make herself look any better and, let's face it, she was a rather plain one. Lucius could sit there for hours and point out every single one of her faults and every single reason that she wasn't marriage material. He had no problems saying that he was only marrying her to make his father happy and not be written out of his will and end up losing all of his due inheritance. He also had no qualms at all with admitting that, as soon as she was pregnant with the heir he needed, he'd be seeking out other women to warm his bed.

That did not, however, make this any less humiliating for him, nor did it make him any less furious with the circumstances. Sure, he didn't want her. But what kind of sensible witch would turn him, _Lucius Malfoy_, down for some filthy, poor little mudblood? All right, so maybe life would have been hell for her had they married. But being rich in hell was better than being poor in heaven. What kind of self-respecting, sane person willingly chooses to be poor? It made absolutely no sense.

He let his father rage about, going on about how the Black's were terrible people and if it weren't for their bloodline, they'd all be worthless scum. Lucius had stopped paying attention to Abraxas' rants ages ago. The old man ranted and raved for the first day on the indignities that this presented, the humiliation, and what the rest of the world would say about them. On the second day, he went off about how much money he had spent on the Blacks and what kind of a way was this to repay him?! And while his father yelled on about it, Lucius merely fumed in silence, growing more and more furious as the day went by. The Black's would have to pay for what they had done to his reputation.

In fact, that was what he was doing at the moment, sitting in the living room with his feet kicked up on the expensive antique coffee table with a glass of fire whiskey, trying to figure out exactly how the Black's would pay for what they had done to his reputation. How would he take his revenge for this? He knew that his father would be demanding all the galleons he had spent to be repaid with interest. But, really, how did that help him?

"Lucius!" came Abraxas' rough voice as the older man came into the living room. Glancing over at the door, Lucius had to raise his eyebrows. His father was clearly dressed to go somewhere. "Get up off your ass, boy, we're going to the Black's to settle this right now. The sooner we get it over with, the sooner we can move on and find you someone else."

Lucius had to raise his brows curiously. All right, so he wasn't entirely happy about the whole Andromeda affair. But he most certainly did not want to bother going to 'get it over with', as Abraxas put it. And he definitely did not want to move on and find someone else to marry so quickly. He happened to enjoy being free. "Right now as in right this minute?"

"No, not right now as in right this minute," Abraxas snapped, no patience for his son's lack of respect at the moment. "Right now as in ten minutes ago, you're late. Now up off your lazy ass, put the drink away, and let's go."

Deciding that it seemed rather clear that he had no choice on the matter, Lucius finished off what was left of his fire whiskey and got up, leaving the glass on the table, an elf would remove it later. There was no need for him to go and change or attempt to look more appealing. There was no need to stand to impress. This wasn't a visit to a fiancé to plan a wedding, but rather felt more like an executioner on the way to the next victim.

* * *

Cygnus, who really was in no hurry to face the Malfoy's anger, had allowed them to settle into the study before he and Druella went to join them. Taking his usual seat, his wife settling in beside him, there was barely a glance over at the two men while Cygnus' mind was quickly running through options of what to do. They'd had two days to think on this, but there was no possible way that either of them could come up with to pay the Malfoys back for this. There wasn't enough money in the Black vault to cover the cost of the wedding alone, much less all the other ones that Andromeda had delayed and there would undoubtedly be a heavy price for the blow to their reputation.

There was a minute of silence, as Abraxas had decided to allow Cygnus to start with whatever sort of explanation that he could come up with. Cygnus, who realized that he was to begin this meeting, cleared his throat while he decided where, exactly, to start.

"First of all, let me just start by saying that none of us expected Andromeda to do anything like this," he started slowly, taking a deep breath as he tried for a diplomatic approach. Keep them calm. "Druella and I did not raise her like that. I honestly could not tell you where her mind has gotten to, or what exactly has gone wrong with her."

There was another moment of silence before Abraxas, who had cocked an eyebrow during this start, spoke up. "That's all you've got, Cygnus? My son has been humiliated, my gold spent, and all you can say is… you don't know what's gotten in to the girl?"

"None of us planned for this to happen," Black pointed out with his brows raised. Obviously, this would not be an easy thing to settle.

"Andromeda's behavior is utterly humiliating. Do you vaguely understand how much gold we've wasted on her behalf, Cygnus?" Abraxas asked coolly, actually remaining in his seat for once. "Do you have even the slightest hint, at all, of what this has done to my son? He's suffered so much humiliation at the hands of your daughter! Everyone is whispering about how a pureblooded witch would go to such extremes as to run off and wed a muggle to get out of the marriage planned with Lucius! He's being treated as though he's got some sort of disease."

"Druella and I understand that you two have suffered. Do you think we have not suffered at all? This has not been easy on anyone," Cygnus returned, matching Malfoy Sr's tone quite easily. There was a brief pause and a glance over at his wife before he continued. "Give me a number, Abraxas. It might take us a while, but Druella and I intend to pay this off."

"You really think that you've got enough gold to pay off this mess? I know you, Cygnus, full well enough to know that it'll take you years to pay off what you owe us. This house doesn't even come close to adding up," Malfoy pointed out, contemplating for a moment, running rough figures in his head. He didn't have his ledger to look at. "The approximate total cost of the weddings that have been delayed or called off come out somewhere around the two point five million galleon mark. There is, of course, interest to be added to that. At current rates, it brings it up around… three million. And then there's also pain and suffering, so we'll round it up somewhere to three point five. And, of course, with the interest, over however many years it'll take you to pay this off, the price'll go up."

Cygnus barely had time to swallow that – three point five million galleons, plus interest? Druella had put her tea down so that her shaking hands weren't nearly as noticeable. And before Cygnus could say anything, there was an intrusion in the form of a house elf. Black frowned at it in irritation as it bowed before the guests and then he and his wife before speaking in its annoyingly squeaky little voice. "Nobble is sorry to be interrupting, sir, but sir wanted to know when Miss Narcissa was practicing her potions on the house elves again, sir."

As if there wasn't enough on his plate right now, but now Cygnus needed to worry about a potentially deceased house elf. He reached up to rub his temples for a second. "Which one is it, Nobble?"

"Cally, sir," it answered, receiving a wince from Cygnus. Cally was one of the better elves that had been here for over a decade. And he really couldn't afford to be losing house elves at the moment. After an order to bring his youngest to him, the elf left quickly to go and fetch her.

Cygnus looked back over at Abraxas and Lucius, the former looking more irritated than ever and the latter looking mildly amused. "Just give me two minutes to deal with Narcissa, please. I can't afford to have her killing my house elves, they take far too long to train as well as Cally is."

While Abraxas scoffed at the mere idea that a house elf could be of more importance than the current matter on hand, Lucius merely rolled his eyes. The nerve of old man Black really had no end, did it? However, as soon as Narcissa Black had walked in, he quirked an eyebrow slightly, paying just a bit more attention.

After nodding politely at the two Malfoy's, Narcissa turned her attention to her father with her brows raised slightly. "You called for me?"

Cygnus sighed slightly at the sight of his daughter. She was a bit of mess, there was a black smear on her cheek and her hair was up in a messy knot. "What have I told you about practicing your potions on the house elves, Narcissa?"

Ah. So that's what this was about. She shrugged innocently. "Well. I need to do my homework, father. Surely, you don't want me testing the potions on myself, right? That could be dangerous."

"Find something else to practice on. Or don't practice at all, do the theory behind it," he said with a shake of his head. Well, he most certainly did not want her to practice on herself. He didn't need a sick daughter on top of everything.

"Well… I could practice on the horses…" she started thoughtfully, knowing full well that wouldn't blow over. Cygnus loved those horses, "Or the dogs," she suggested, knowing that wouldn't work either. Those were pure breed animals that had been bred for show and won a decent amount of blue ribbons.

"You'll do no such thing, Narcissa, and you know it," Cygnus snapped at her as the suggestions of the expensive animals came up.

Narcissa crinkled her nose slightly. "So, if I can't practice on the horses or the dogs… you agree with me that I really ought to be practicing on the house elves?"

"Yes, do that," Cygnus said distractedly, waving his hand and completely forgetting the point of telling her not to do that in the first place. "Now, Cissy, if you don't mind, we're in a meeting here," he added on, forgetting that he had called her in.

"Of course. Silly me, I'm sorry for the interruption," she said with a nod, turning around and, after curtsying slightly for the Malfoy's as was proper manners, left the room.

It took all of one minute after Narcissa had left and the looks from the Malfoy's before Cygnus realized that he had been tricked. He reached up and rubbed his eye slightly before looking at Druella, who had a small frown on her face.

"She did it again, didn't she?" he asked, watching as his wife nodded. His youngest, and by far his favorite, always had a way of tricking Cygnus into what she wanted. "Would you, please…?" he asked, trailing off and Druella nodded again, getting up from her seat and excusing herself to go and stop Narcissa from whatever she was doing to the elf.

Abraxas had his brows raised at Cygnus as Druella left, waiting for the door to close before he spoke again. "Well, if it's that easy for your daughters to trick you, I can fully see how Andromeda got away."

"Narcissa merely has a way of getting whatever she wants just because she's the youngest," Cygnus said dismissively, not really thinking about it. He was still on the millions of galleons that Abraxas wanted in return. "And my mind is not entirely on the behavior of Narcissa at the moment, but rather on the matter of paying you back just now. I figure we can come to some sort of deal, a payment schedule."

Lucius, who had been thinking and silent thus far, spoke up before his father could say anything in response to Cygnus' somewhat weak offer. "You know, Mr. Black. Some people could consider it unlucky that you tried three times for a male heir to pass everything you own along to and in all three attempts failed. I'm fairly positive at the time, you weren't happy to have three daughters."

Cygnus frowned at Lucius, shaking his head slightly in confusion. Abraxas wasn't quite following his son either, but choose to let Cygnus ask first. "I'm sorry, Lucius, I'm not quite following you here."

"Well, the point of the matter would be that you had three daughters. One's already married and Merlin knows I wouldn't have been able to stand her anyway. The second, well. We've already seen how that one went," he said with a small shrug, leaning back comfortably. How his father would take this, he had no clue. But Lucius saw just how he'd be able to get his revenge on the Black family for what Andromeda had done. "But you still one more daughter left. And I am still very much interested in the blood line."

That was when both fathers caught on. Abraxas wasn't fond of the idea. The girl tested potions on house elves, how long until she graduated to a human? Besides. One Black daughter had already fled, who was to say another wouldn't? But he remained silent, letting his son make the decision.

Cygnus, though, had to shake his head. "Unfortunately, Lucius, Narcissa's hand has already been promised. All three of them had their futures planned before they were five."

"And I'm fairly positive that you'll find it much easier to break off the engagement with a family that's not quite as high up in line as we are," Lucius said with a shrug.

"She's not even of age yet, Lucius," Cygnus pointed out as well, not quite willing to just hand Narcissa off to a man who was undoubtedly extremely upset about what his other daughter had done. It didn't sit well.

"And yet, if I recall correctly, her birthday is in two days and she will be of age," Lucius pointed out in return. He could vaguely recall that Narcissa had been born in December when he'd looked over the family tree and, if he was remember right, that day was in two days on Saturday. "Saturday, in fact. Correct?"

How did the boy know Narcissa's birthday? Cygnus frowned again. There was still one more try to be had. "She's still in school."

"And graduating this coming June," Lucius returned easily, not quite willing to let this one go so easily when Cygnus was obviously trying to hold on to her.

Abraxas, deciding that his son – who had always gotten whatever he had wanted, whenever he wanted it – wouldn't be denied again. "I think it'll be a lot easier, Cygnus, for you to just break off this other engagement rather than try to scrape up three point five million galleons, plus interest, for the rest of your life."

Well, he was just up against the wall on this one. There was really no way that he'd be able to pay that. And besides, Narcissa did know how to take care of herself, right? He had raised all three of them properly in that sense. "And so you're proposing that you take my youngest rather than my gold? When, exactly, would you be taking her?"

That was where Lucius had to pause a moment in thought, glancing over at his father for that answer. She did, after all, still have six months of school. After she graduated? But Abraxas shrugged. "She'll be seventeen this Saturday. I'd rather not take another flight risk. One daughter ran, who's to say the other won't? We have a wedding planned this Saturday. We'll just… have a different bride than we anticipated. Find her a dress."

Cygnus tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair in thought. Saturday. On her seventeenth birthday. Not only would Cygnus have to see his youngest daughter finally grow up, but also he'd now have to see her off in to the hands of a Malfoy. However there wasn't much of a choice in that. He could surrender Narcissa or be out on the streets with his wife.

"Then it looks as though there will be a wedding between the Malfoys and Blacks this Saturday after all," he said with a heavy sigh. Druella would kill him for this.

* * *

a/n; Sorry if it's kinda long. I got a wee bit carried away. Review and I'll update faster.


	3. Chapter 3: In Too Deep?

_**Disclaimer: **__We all know that I don't own the Malfoy's, the Black's, or anyone else from Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfics, would I? I just get to hold their leashes._

_**A/N: **__Ahh! I have reviewers and subscribers. I feel so loved. Just thought I'd let you know that. And thanks for the concerns. My daughter's only got a maximum of five more weeks before I can bring her home. And in the mean time, I felt I owed you the wedding.  
_

* * *

**Chapter Three:**  
In Too Deep

As he had predicted previously, Druella was furious with her husband. They had argued on it for a few good hours. But in the end, Druella had come to accept that there really was no other way out of this. The Malfoy's were not a family to be angered further. The Greengrasses would merely have to accept that they had to break off a twelve-year-old engagement. It hadn't been an easy thing to do, the parents had been furious and yet the boy had been relieved, letting them all know that he had been having relations with some girl from school. It had blown over of its own accord.

Narcissa had to admit that she was vaguely stricken with panic. She hadn't been expecting her wedding until the summer. When her father informed her on the change of plans concerning her groom, she'd managed to talk him out of it for three whole hours until Druella reminded him of the Malfoy's alternate price. Narcissa needed someone she could control, someone she could easily wrap around her finger and it was obvious that it wouldn't be Lucius. She wouldn't be getting her way anymore. There was shock when she'd learned that her birthday would also be her wedding day. It would be a marvel if Lucius remembered both of them at the same time and if he forgot either, she swore right then she'd give him hell for it.

However, her last remaining day of being a child was spent in the company of her sister and her in London, shopping for a dress and whatever else she'd need for her wedding day. Dinner that night was mostly silent and in the company of Bellatrix and her husband, Rodolphus, both of which would be spending the night so that Bella could help Narcissa prepare in the morning. Sure, it would be held at the Malfoy's large estate, but she'd insisted on at least being allowed to prepare at home. It was the last she'd actually see of it, after all. Narcissa had gone off to bed early, figuring she'd attempt to get some sleep before tomorrow rather than joining in the discussions being held in the family room.

* * *

He hadn't had a bachelor's party, as was the custom. He really didn't see the point in it, to be fairly honest. Just because his bride had changed, that didn't mean any of his plans would change. Besides, Narcissa, pretty as she had looked even with her hair a mess, black smudges on her face, and rather plain robes, undoubtedly would not be enough to maintain his attentions for the rest of their lives. It was nearly impossible to keep a Malfoy man completely happy, if not merely satisfied. And it most definitely was not something one woman could do alone.

And anyway, Lucius had absolutely no intentions whatsoever of forming any sort of bond with her, of becoming fond of her in any way. She was just a means to an end, a womb to carry the heir he needed and that was it. It really was a pity, though, that she'd have to suffer for what her oldest sister had done, for what her family had allowed to happen. Yet when it had become obvious to him in those few minutes he'd seen her interacting with her father that she clearly was the favorite. Cygnus' voice had been far gentler with her than Lucius had ever heard him with Andromeda. And even if that was one of the only times he had actually seen them together, it was blatant that, rather than being hated for being the last failed attempt at a boy, she was favored for being the youngest. And, really being fairly honest, this was to get back at Cygnus and Druella. Lucius Malfoy didn't let grudges merely sit and rot. And, anyway, it was just one more day he had to be nice. Then the fun could start. And he fell asleep with that thought comforting him.

* * *

There was some delighted, amused laughter accompanied by clapping to be heard coming from around an open bedroom door at about nine that morning. The wedding wasn't to be held until noon and at the moment if one peeked into the room, rather than seeing a nervous bride preparing for one of the biggest days of her life, they'd find an extremely amused and giggling Narcissa in her bathrobe, obviously immensely enjoying some story that her sister and Matron of Honor was recalling for her.

"So, I got him a ring, right? And he tried to put the ring on and when it didn't fit on any of his fingers, I let him in on the little secret that that wasn't where the ring went, that it goes downstairs and it's supposed to… er… enhance playtime. And then, no seriously now, and then when I told Rodolphus that it's perfectly normal for a man to wear jewelry like that and that I'd be terribly upset and insulted if he didn't like the gift I got for him, besides it would match that god awful necklace I had given him a minute previously, and as soon as he got the ring on, I gave him the third and last box. Mind you, he still can't figure out what the gifts are for. As soon as he opens it, he was nearly torn to pieces by the six nifflers that were dying to get out and get the jewelry off of him!" Bellatrix explained, giggling herself every now and then as her younger sister clapped more and nearly fell back in the bed. With a wide grin on her face, Bella continued, "And the injuries and scars he sustained as those claws dug into his most personal area will remind him why he ought not be forgetting our anniversary. Now it's only been two months, but he hasn't forgotten yet."

As Narcissa was starting to regain some of her control, the snapping voice of Druella Black seemed to pull her back up right, giggles from both girls stopped, serious expressions in place. The older woman gave her two daughters a glare. "Bellatrix, I sent you up here to get Narcissa ready, not to talk story. This is a very serious day, it needs to go off without a hitch!"

"But I _am _getting Cissy ready! I'm defusing her nerves!" Bella protested with a frown before continuing. "Okay. Look at this. You see this?" she asked, pointing at her own face, "This is my serious face. So, clearly, I'm being serious. I'm getting her ready. I promise! Just relax. Okay?"

Druella gave Bellatrix a glare. Honestly, if the girl weren't married, she'd get a smack upside the head for her rudeness. She looked to the youngest, her face softening up a bit. "Narcissa, do you have all your jewelry ready?" she asked, receiving a nod and continuing, "Your dress has no wrinkles?" Another nod. "No runs in your stockings?" Another nod. "All the make up you need?" Nod. "Your shoes clean?"

By the time Druella was asking if Narcissa had the proper under garments for tonight, Bellatrix had gotten up, patience gone. "Mother, she'll be _fine_! She'll be ready and, you know what, I'll even have her a half an hour early if you just go! Now!"

Mrs. Black looked at Bella with a frown before indeed heading out, the door snapping shut behind her, Bella rubbing her temples slightly. Narcissa, though, was smiling again, looking at her sister mischievously. "Nifflers, huh? Still got them?"

The grin that spread across Bellatrix's face couldn't possibly be any more wicked.

* * *

As promised to their mother, Narcissa, with the aid of her sister, had indeed been at Malfoy Manor a half an hour early. The two of them had been shown to a room by a house elf to do the final preparations, touch up her make up, and finally pull on her heavy dress five minutes before she was to make that long walk. With a good twenty-five minutes ahead of them, the girls had settled in, Bellatrix sitting with her legs over the armrest of her chair as Narcissa had her own legs crossed, the two of them picking at some grapes and making idle chat. They were completely relaxed. That is, until there was a knock on the door. Rather than waiting for either of the rooms occupants to answer the knock, the door opened to reveal an already dressed Lucius Malfoy. His steps faltered slightly when he saw how the two of them were dressed in common day robes that didn't mix very well with their elegant hair do's and elaborate make up, flung comfortably in to two chairs.

They didn't stay flung in their chairs for long, though, the two of them getting up rather indignantly and Bellatrix speaking out first. "Why, Lucius Malfoy! You should know better than to see your bride before your wedding! I am shocked and dismayed that you're in here right now!"

"No… No, Bella," Narcissa said, contemplating as she shook her head slowly and for a moment, Lucius almost thought that she was going to shut her older sister up. For a moment. "You can't be both. I'll be shocked. You be dismayed. I believe that'll cover it."

Bella seemed to consider for a moment before, "Alright. She's shocked. I'm dismayed. This is completely inappropriate behavior on your part and, quite frankly, I demand you leave so we can finish getting ready."

Lucius raised an eyebrow as he looked between the two of them. Well, he could only hope that Bellatrix wouldn't be coming around the manor very often to visit her sister. It was bad enough that he had to see the wild woman frequently, at least once a week. He didn't need her to be here in her spare time as well. Besides, it was fairly obvious the woman was a bad influence on his soon-to-be wife. "Actually, Bellatrix, this is my house. I have absolutely no intentions of going anywhere. And besides, you weren't getting ready. The two of you were lounging about eating grapes."

"What makes you think that's not getting ready?" Narcissa asked with a bit of a frown, hands on her hips. Lucius had to admit that he liked her hips. "We're doing some very last minute dieting by eating some healthy grapes so that we can fit into our dresses properly!"

Last minute dieting by eating healthy grapes to fit into their dresses? Both of his eyebrows rose as he attempted to figure that one out. But before he could, Bellatrix was speaking again. "Exactly. We need to make perfectly sure that the hundreds of galleons we spent on these dresses that we're only ever going to wear once will fit nicely. Surely, you want your bride to look beautiful? Well, that's not going to happen unless we finish our lounging about and eating grapes!"

After a moment or so, Lucius decided that he didn't really need to follow their logic and let it drop. Besides, he had come here for a reason. What reason was that again? He frowned, glancing at Narcissa before remembering. Oh. Right. "Look, I just came here to have a word with Narcissa. So, Bellatrix, think you could find something else to do for about ten minutes? Go check on the flowers? Make sure the food is all in order? Perhaps play with a poisonous snake?"

Bellatrix gave him a rather deadly glare before leaning over to whisper something into her sister's ear and headed out, closing the door behind her. She'd get him back for that later and her whispered advice to Cissy should prove amusing if her sister listened to her.

Lucius spared a glare after Bellatrix before looking back at the now seventeen-year-old girl that he really didn't know. He knew her in passing. They had talked every now and then when he had still been in school. After all, he was only a year older than she was. And yet in the eight months since he had last seen her before he graduated, she looked different. Older. And yet, when he glanced in the mirror, he looked far more than only a year older than she was. Especially when, once Bellatrix had taken her leave, Narcissa looked nervous. Her protective blanket was gone. But why did she look at him like he was the root of all evil? What had Bellatrix told her?

"Can I help you, Lucius? Or did you just… come in here to stare blankly and delay me getting ready?" Narcissa asked with her brows raised, obviously recovering from the loss of her shield easily.

"Come now, Narcissa, I know you were raised with some manners," he drawled, pausing for a moment. He wasn't happy that he'd been caught staring and that was fairly obvious. Reaching in to one of his pockets, he pulled out a flat, square box and looking down at it as he flipped it over and over before shrugging. "I thought I'd come and give you your birthday present before the wedding. But if you don't want it, I'm sure that Bella's standing right outside, she'd take it."

Narcissa stared at him for all of two seconds before reaching out and snatching the box from his hands, not giving him the chance to put it out of her reach. There was a frown from him at that but he let it go, preferring to watch her pull off the ribbon, tear apart the paper, and open the box. It amused him and he had to allow for a small smile, which he quickly turned into the proper smirk. She clearly liked getting presents and having one of hers being offered away wasn't going to work for her. However, he decided right then to make them harder to open.

She finally reached the elegant necklace that was clearly meant to match the pattern on her gown (wait, how did he know what her gown looked like?) and she allowed a small smile. Oh, wait. He was still in here. She rearranged her features into a carefully neutral expression as she looked back up at him. "Thank you, Lucius. But, with all due respect, if you don't mind, I am starting to run out of time and really ought to be dressing."

He didn't think he'd mind so much if he stayed in there and watched her dress. After all, if she looked tempting in a common house robe, he'd be willing to stake his inheritance that she had a body to kill for under them. But somehow, he didn't think she'd appreciate his sentiments. And besides, he'd see it all tonight. He let another smirk across his face at that thought. "Right. Best hurry, too. Wouldn't want you to be late."

Narcissa smiled slightly after him as he walked out and was immediately replaced by Bella, muttering something about incompetence as she got the dresses out of their bags.

* * *

The wedding and reception had passed by in a blur for Narcissa. She could vaguely recall key points, but other than that it was all one big mesh of memories. Walking down the aisle. Saying those words that bound her to Lucius and vice versa. The first dance as husband and wife, though she couldn't for the life of her tell you what song played. The first night together was just as blurry. And Narcissa was fully willing to blame all of these blurs on her nerves. Not that she ever had any intention of letting anyone know that. But the next morning…

Narcissa had woken up early to find that she was cold. A glance down at herself seemed to tell her why and she got out of the bed carefully to get dressed. Once there were clothes on, she took the time to explore the room that would be her bedroom for the rest of her life once she graduated Hogwarts. There were some rather interesting things in here. She'd have to ask Lucius later if he knew how to put down the toilet seat.

It wasn't very long before she'd made her way over to the heavy curtains drawn across half of one wall and pulled them open to reveal glass balcony doors and caused a wide grin to cross her face. A hand touched the glass lightly as she stared at the weather. It was snowing. And she loved the snow. After biting her lip a second, she pushed the doors open and walked out onto the balcony, a flurry of white all around her. She made her way to the railing and looked down at the grounds. They looked like marvelous fun. It took her a moment to decide, but she ended up going back into the room, leaving the doors open, intent on waking her new husband.

With a grin in place she shook him. "Lucius? Lucius, wake up!" The man muttered something and rolled over, sighing as he settled back down. Deciding this wouldn't do, Narcissa yanked the covers off of him and he promptly woke up with a glare over at her.

"Damn it, woman, what do you want?!" he snapped unhappily, reaching for the blankets and coming up with nothing. Where was his wand?

Narcissa cocked an eyebrow at him. "My, my, someone's not a morning person," she said cheerily before getting to the point. "Lucius, it's snowing!"

The look he fixed her with made her feel like a child and the condescending tone didn't really help matters, "Yes, Narcissa. It's winter. It does that in the winter instead of raining. It's no phenomenon. Why did that require you to wake me?"

The grin had faded and she looked a little less than happy and decidedly less excited. "I, um. I wanted you to take me outside and show me around. I wouldn't want to get lost and that might not look to good, losing your wife the day after your wedding."

Uh-uh. That wasn't going to work. He was too tired to be tricked into going into the freezing snow, which he happened to hate. It wasn't so spectacular. "Have one of the house elves show you around, I'm still sleeping. Now give me back the blankets and shoo!"

And that wasn't one of her practiced pouts. It was a genuinely disappointed look. She really did look saddened as she handed him back the blankets, almost on the verge of tears he thought, and went back out onto the balcony.

Lucius rolled his eyes and after a moment, he was getting comfortable in bed again. Damnable woman, giving him that look. Why did she have to look so depressed about it? It was just snow! And what was wrong with him? He had to be going soft to be letting that look get to him. After all, what did it matter? Just ignore it. Go back to sleep, Malfoy. Forget about it. After all, he didn't care. Right?

Twenty minutes later, Narcissa was startled as she heard the balcony door open again and looked up to see Lucius, dressed in warm winter clothes and raising his eyebrow down at her. "Put on something warmer so you don't catch your death and let's get this over with."


	4. Chapter 4: Dinner and the Dark Lord

_**Disclaimer: **__We all know that I don't own the Malfoy's, the Black's, or anyone else from Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfics, would I? I just get to hold their leashes._

* * *

**Chapter Four:**  
Dinner and the Dark Lord

The day had gone along as nicely as was possibly. For the most part, they seemed to be getting along. Narcissa pulled the strings she'd found whenever she wanted something and she got it. That tennis bracelet, those diamond earrings, the sapphire broach, that pair of designer high-heeled boots that she probably would never wear and a dress that would match those boots fabulously. Lucius seemed to have no problems spending his gold on her. That look that had burned him so much that morning constantly seemed to be on the verge of coming back whenever he looked like he was going to say no to something. Besides, what was the harm in buying her what she wanted if it meant that he wasn't going to get that look again? One could almost think that this hadn't all been arranged. It wasn't until dinner that night did they hit a small snag in their process.

Lucius had chosen a rather nice restaurant, which required a bit of gold to be exchanged due to its last minute decision and lack of reservations. The place as decently crowded and Narcissa didn't much care who had lost their table because Lucius had decided that this would be where dinner was, nor did it really matter. Their conversation had danced along several subjects, starting with him awkwardly inquiring as to how her classes were going and eventually getting around to, of all things, Quidditch and the fact that Lucius wasn't fond of the sport.

"I just don't get why you don't like Quidditch," Narcissa said with a shake of her head, taking a sip of her drink. "I mean, it's ludicrous not to like it. Have you ever played it?"

"I don't play well with others. Not much of a team player," he said with a shake of his head. Of course he had never played the sport. There were too many other people he'd have to get along with. And really, if Narcissa stopped and thought about it, she could not recall ever seeing him on the team, nor even in the pitch during a game. "And besides, I only play something if I know I'll win."

"And how do you know if you'll win?" she asked curiously, brows slightly raised.

"I just do. I never start a game or take a gamble if there's even the slightest possibility I'd lose," he said with a shrug. Even if it was by under-handed means, Lucius Malfoy made sure that there was no way he'd lose.

By this point, Narcissa was frowning. "So… you don't play a game unless it's completely safe?"

"Nope," he replied smugly as he took a sip of his own wine. "And I can honestly say that I've never lost before.

The frown was still on her face as she tried to figure that one out before shaking her head and giving him a sad smile. "Well. That just takes the fun out of everything, only playing it safe. Where's the risk?"

"You'd be surprised as to how much risk I'd be willing to take," he answered with a small smirk as he leaned forward slightly to tell her something just as the appetizers got there. Once the waiters had left, he appeared to be ready to say what he had been planning when his expression changed, pinched slightly. Whatever had been on his mind was gone as he got up from his seat and reached into his pocket and put a pouch of gold on the table for her to pay for dinner with. "I need to go. Here, for dinner. Don't wait up for me, alright?"

Narcissa was just utterly confused. Had she offended him? And she thought they'd been having an all right time. She frowned, shaking her head slightly and could only manage, "Wait. What?"

"I need to go," was all he repeated as he gave her a somewhat apologetic shrug and headed off to the bathroom to disapperate out of there.

Narcissa stared blankly at his seat, completely confused as to what had just happened. Had she just been ditched, in the middle of a crowded, expensive restaurant, before they had even started on their appetizers? She looked around the place for a second before looking back at her salad. It was a full house too. And obviously, the tables nearest her had heard Lucius informing her of his sudden need to not be there by the way they were glancing and muttering things. Oh, he was going to be in trouble later for that. She raised a hand and called for their waitress to request the check.

* * *

She did wait up for him, however, despite what he'd said. He found that out quite quickly as he entered the bedroom they now shared as silently as he could. It proved to be pointless as he was surprised to find the light was on. Before he got that chance to look around, a shoe hit him square in the stomach with startling force. He somehow managed to catch the offending shoe as he rubbed the sore spot on his stomach and looked up in confusion – and just in time to duck as the shoe's mate came flying for his head and ended up hitting the door with a resounding thud. He straightened back up and looked at the shoe now on the ground for a second. Well, at least shoes only came in pairs. He looked over to see Narcissa standing beside the bed and frowned. Yes, shoes came in pairs. And she seemed to have every bloody pair of shoes in the house to the bed, covering it and in result, having a whole arsenal beside her as she reloaded and aimed another one, which he managed to avoid as well, though barely.

"What the fuck, woman?!" he snapped angrily as she picked up a rather spiky shoe. That one could hurt. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"You are my problem, now hold still!" she snapped in return and threw the spiky one. Evidently, though, she had given him warning as he'd managed to get out his wand and throw up a shield charm. The stiletto heel merely deflected off the charm and fell to the rug. "You wimp, lower the shield! Can't handle a few shoes?"

He blinked. Had she just called him a wimp? Honestly, had she really just called him a wimp? He ground his teeth for a moment as he dropped the shoe in his hand, growing more and more angry. There was a glare as he dropped the shoe in his hand and proceeded to banish the rest of the shoes from the bed, and from the room as well so she couldn't grab the next one. A house elf would have to put them all back where they belonged. Unless he decided that she had gotten them out, she could put them away as well.

"If you continue to act like a child, Mrs. Malfoy, then I am going to have to treat you as one and demand that you put every single one of those shoes back where you got them, without magic," he scolded in a soft voice, one who most people knew to back down from. Narcissa had not yet learned this tone, however and had pulled out her own wand from wherever it had been hiding.

"You're hardly a year old than I am, Mr. Malfoy. It's not very convincing of you, saying you'll treat me as a child," she replied, brows raised cockily. "What are you going to do, put me over your knee?"

If he hadn't been so angry, he'd have found that to be a very good idea for some other activity. But for now, he had to first figure out what had warranted him to have shoes thrown at him and then patronize her for whatever it was before he could go to bed. "What is wrong with you?"

"I already told you what was wrong with me. _You_ are what's wrong with me," she snapped nastily, wand still trained on him as his was on her. "And if you don't know what you did, I suggest you think about it. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out."

But he really could not see what he had done wrong. They had gotten along all day. He had forced himself out in to the snow and thus weather he utterly despised. He had even bloody gone shopping with her! Where was the problem? His clueless look seemed to infuriate her further, however, because she snapped again.

"You left me, all by myself, in the middle of a crowded restaurant!" she seethed, having had time to sit on this and decide that really, she had every right to be angry. "The tables next to us heard what you said and kept sending me glances of pity between whispering behind their hands. The waitress asked me if you were planning on coming back before informing me that she had seen this a thousand times before and, oh, incidentally her cousin's face as finally cleared up who happens to know how to treat a woman should I decide to wise up and find someone better. An old woman at a table right next to us leaned over to her husband and, in what I'm sure she knew I would hear, told him that hookers were getting expensive now days and you must have thought better of it! Do you have any idea, even the slightest inclination, how embarrassing that was?"

That was it? That was all she was angry about? Was that he had walked out on dinner? He couldn't help it as he began laughing. If that was really it, she was in for a sore awakening when he started to put his plan in motion. But evidently, laughing was the wrong idea as, with the aid of her wand, she flung another shoe at him. The humor was gone as this one hit him in his shoulder and he cocked an eyebrow at her. Well, if she really wanted to play that game, he'd play. After disarming her quickly enough of her wand, Lucius flung the shoe back at her. Narcissa threw out her arms to block and had to wince slightly as it hit her hands, giving him a cold glare.

"Yeah, not very fun being hit by shoes, now is it?" he asked with his brows raised, tucking her wand in a pocket and advancing before she could get to the shoe. "I swear, woman, you throw one more shoe at me and I'm going to make you go without shoes for a month or until I decide I can trust you around shoes again."

By the time he'd finished, he was towering over her. He had a good eight inches on her in physical height and he was putting that to effect. She didn't like it. After glancing around, Narcissa climbed up on the bed as that was what was closest and stood on the edge so she could have the height advantage, glaring down at him with her hands on her hip stubbornly.

"You're an ass, do you know that?" she snipped at him, clearly nowhere near as amused as he had been by the situation. "Why the fuck did you ditch me? Did I offend you or something?"

He turned to look up at her with one of his brows raised, thinking for a moment. Well, she was offending him _now, _if she was wondering about that. He seemed to be debating for another minute on what he was going to do before quickly reaching out an arm behind her legs and forcing her knees to buckle, making her fall back on the bed and earning a small cry of surprise, followed by a few choice words. Well, at least she wouldn't be physically hurt. The bed was soft. And really, she had it coming, trying to get the upper hand on the situation.

"First of all, _darling_, don't ever swear at me. It is completely unbecoming for someone of your stature, not to mention rather rude. And I think I've been very polite thus far," he drawled slowly, putting his knee on the bed so he could lean over her body and seize her wrists to pin her to the bed, ignoring as she struggled, causing him to smirk. "Second of all, stop squirming, you're not going to get loose and I have no intentions of letting up until you relax. I'd rather not talk to a screaming banshee. You're a grown woman, act like it."

"Let go of me, you brute!" she snapped trying to pull her hands free or kick at him. She got nowhere for a good ten minutes other than to wear herself out. She glared up at him as she stopped, breathing a little raggedly.

"Are you quite done throwing your little fit now?" he patronized, having waited patiently while she attempted to get loose. That patience was now wearing thin and he didn't wait for the answer. "I fear you're not going to the apology you seem to want from me, because I have absolutely no intentions of apologizing to you for leaving you at dinner tonight, nor for knocking you flat on your back and holding you down. In fact, you're going to have to learn that I apologize for nothing. You'll just need to start getting used to things. You did grow up with Bellatrix, after all. One would think you'd have developed tougher skin than that. I would suggest you get to work on that," he said before frowning deeply as she looked away from him and off to the side in a pout. Holding her wrists in one hand lest she hit him – and he had discovered that she seemed to be rather fond of the idea of injuring him when she was angry – he grabbed on to her chin with his now free hand and forced her to look back up at him. "I am talking to you, Narcissa and, you look at me when I'm talking to you. Unfortunately, I'm not over there. Am I clear?"

She glared up at him, growing more and more furious with the second. First he treated her like a child, and then criticized her for not having a 'tough enough skin', and now he was giving her an order to look at him when he spoke to her. Her lip was curling in completely and utter contempt. He didn't seem ready to go on and explain why he wasn't at dinner until she answered whether he was clear or not so gave a short, curt nod. She needed to find out why he had left her before she made him pay fully, and for more than merely the cost of the missed meal.

"Good. See, we're getting somewhere," he sneered coolly, considering something for a moment. "Now, if I let you up now, are you going to promise to be a good girl and not fling any more shoes at me, or attempt to injure me in any way?"

After receiving another nod from her, Lucius released her chin and her wrists, and got off of her, standing up as she sat up, still shooting daggers at him. She seemed to have calmed down somewhat and that was vaguely reassuring. But she remained silent, clearly waiting for him to go on and explain his behavior. He debated holding that over her, not telling her just for the way she had been acting. However, he already had other things in mind to repay her for her ill-concocted plan of throwing shoes.

"Now, I believe you wanted to know why I left you at dinner, correct?" he asked with his brows raised and received a third nod. "I'm afraid that, just because we're married now, my loyalties don't lie entirely with you. I'm fairly positive you know of the war that's coming, right?"

"Of course I know of the war that's coming, who doesn't? And it makes absolute sense, purebloods really should have control over everything, there's no reason why we should have to hide our magical abilities just because lesser beings might be jealous," she answered, waving a dismissive hand before putting things together and looking at him with an unsettled look. "You… you're not fighting, are you?"

There was another smug smirk at her. Clearly, he had made the right choice when he had demanded the youngest in payment for what the middle child had done. At least Cygnus had raised one of them right. Sure, Bella had the proper ideals, but she was also absolutely bonkers and got off another's pain. Sure, Narcissa seemed vaguely insane just a few minutes ago, but this was nothing he couldn't get under control.

"See, now, you are intelligent," he said in a condescending tone as he walked over to the large walk in closet and changed in to some pajamas, coming back out in a moment. "Now, when he calls, I'm going to answer it. It doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing. It doesn't matter one tiny bit if I'm at work or with you somewhere. Hell, it doesn't even matter if you're in labor with our child. The moment the Dark Lord calls, I'm at his side rather than yours. And it would be best if you didn't raise a fuss about this again. Are we clear on that?"

Well, that wasn't very nice. When she went in to labor with the child they were bound to have, he would have no problems what so ever abandoning her to answer a call to the Dark Lord? It honestly did not make her very happy at all. But it was also very clear that she did not have a choice on that.

"We're clear," she muttered unhappily, getting up off the bed and making her way around to her own side of the bed while Lucius headed to his side and pulled down the comforter before he paused a moment to consider something, eyeing Narcissa.

"Lottie!" he called in to the air and barely a second later, a house elf appeared, bowing low to her master. "Lottie, I don't want you, or any of the other house elves, helping Mrs. Malfoy tonight," he ordered before dismissing the elf and looking over at a confused Narcissa as he put the wand he had taken from her earlier under his pillow, along with his own. "Now, Mrs. Malfoy. You got every single shoe in this house out to assault me with. And you're not going to bed until you put every single one of those shoes back where you got them."

"What?!" she yelped, staring at him in shock, not quite believing that he was going to make her put everything away. Was he really going to make her put the shoes away without the elves to help or the aide of her wand, which he was clearly going to hold from her?

"You heard me. Put the shoes away. I want them all back where they came from before I wake up in the morning," he ordered as he settled down in the bed on his side, finding his comfortable spot. "Good night, Mrs. Malfoy."


	5. Chapter 5: Balls and Truces

_**Disclaimer: **__We all know that I don't own the Malfoy's, the Black's, or anyone else from Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfics, would I? I just get to hold their leashes._

_**A/N:**__ I'm sorry for those of you who didn't like Lucius in the last chapter. Yes, he was an ass. But let's all remember that he __is __out for revenge against the Black family for what Andromeda did to his reputation. And unfortunately, he's going to get a little worse before Narcissa can take her hold. And for __notwolf__, well. You kinda gotta answer when you're called, right? I highly doubt Voldemort would take 'my wife was in labor' as an excuse. And if I tried to use it as an excuse, I would be unable to resist from informing him that he was not the one in labor. Oh, and I do read all my reviews, they make me update faster. I merely lack the manners to respond to you all. But thank you for your reviews! (_

_And yes, I realize that I skipped over Christmas. But that's okay._

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**Chapter Five:**  
Balls and Truces

She hadn't put the shoes away. After glaring coldly at him, wishing that her looks could indeed kill, as the saying went, Narcissa left the room without sparing a considerate thought to the slamming of the door. She stood and looked at all the shoes for about twenty minutes or so before coming to a glorious revelation: Lucius had said _tonight_. A broad grin spread across her face and she nearly giggled as she called for Lottie.

The elf bowed, though not nearly as low as she had for Lucius before looking back up. Narcissa cocked an eyebrow at the filthy thing. It needed a good cleaning itself. But that was beside the point.

"Lottie, put the shoes away. I assume you know where all of them came from," Narcissa delivered her order clearly, waiting for the response she knew would come.

"Missus, the master is telling Lottie not to help you tonight," Lottie replied in a somewhat sad voice, clearly unhappy at having to deny an order. Well, at least she was a proper elf. But still.

"I know that, Lottie, I was standing right there. Lucius said not to help me… _tonight_," Narcissa pointed out, figuring she'd have to explain it anyway when she'd called the elf. "However, it is passed midnight, is it not? And after midnight, it ceases to be night and becomes morning. A whole new day. So, it's really not tonight that I require your assistance, but rather this morning. Tonight will be after the sun has risen and set for the day. Now, clean up the shoes."

Lottie stared at her new missus before realizing that she, in fact, make perfect sense. It was no longer tonight, it was this morning! Not two at night, but two in the morning! A creepy smile broke across the elf's face as she gave her agreement and began to put the shoes away.

Narcissa watched for a moment before she headed off in to what she had learned to be the den. She'd found a way around that little rule of her darling husband's. Now to figure out a way to get around the rest of him, and a whole lifetime in which to do it.

* * *

He woke up that morning to find that the other side of the bed was still empty and frowned, sighing deeply. Surely, she couldn't still be cleaning up those shoes. She had to have come to bed eventually. And when he got up and went to dress and prepare for the day, he found all of the shoes back where they belonged. So where had she gotten to, to not be in bed when he woke at around seven that morning?

A small frown crossed Lucius' face as he headed down for breakfast. That woman had to be up to something. He'd discovered thus far that whenever Narcissa wasn't in plain sight, she was up to something. And hopefully, that something was merely pouting in some corner. So when he walked into the dining room for a quick breakfast to find her sipping at a cup of coffee with the _Daily Prophet_ taken apart, social section in front of her, he managed a mixture of feelings: relief that she wasn't off plotting something, annoyance at his brief moment of worry, confusion as to why she was sitting here looking so calm, and a slight bit of uneasiness that she was sitting here looking so calm.

"Good morning, Lucius," Narcissa said with a grin playing across her face as she noticed her husband had entered. "Coffee?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her, just a bit thrown off. Shouldn't she be angry? Where was the fun in upsetting her if she wasn't angry? There was a small shake of his head. "I can't say that I fancy coffee, thank you."

She nodded and looked back down at the paper before sparing him just a small, quick glance before speaking again. "May I ask where you're going today?"

"Someone has to run the family business and my father has decided that it's time for him to retire," he said distractedly as his breakfast arrived.

"Ah. I see," was all she said, accompanied with another quick smile. She hadn't failed to notice that yes, there was a company to be run, yet he hadn't said that was where he was going. Clearly, he had other plans. "Can I expect you home for dinner?"

He looked back at her, seeming to consider for a moment before, "I wouldn't count on it. And don't wait up for me."

"Of course not," Narcissa replied with a wide smile spreading cross her face just as an elf popped into the room. It looked back and forth between Master and Missus, obviously trying to decide to whom he should be reporting to. After the look Lucius gave it, it clearly decided Lucius.

"Master, Missus, there is a Mrs. Lestrange here to see Missus," it squeaked, facing Lucius as it spoke and causing Narcissa to feign a surprised look.

"Oh, you know, that's right, I forgot that I invited Bella over!" she said quickly in a voice that clearly said she hadn't forgotten any such thing. After giving the elf the order to show her in this way, she looked over at her husband, who was decidedly unhappy with this face. "You don't mind if I have some company today, right?"

As if he had much of a say, that woman was already here and being shown in to his dining room. So it was with gritted teeth that he said, "Of course not."

"Fantastic," Narcissa said happily and getting up to greet her sister as she came in.

Lucius, however, had just remembered something. Well, maybe his sister-in-law would be able to make some use of herself. "Before I forget again, there's a ball coming up at the Ministry on the 31st for New Year. Since your sister is here to help you now, why don't you go buy something nice to wear?"

"Oh, that sounds splendid, let's attempt to bankrupt your husband, Cissy," Bellatrix said with a wide grin spread across her face. Shopping on Lucius Malfoy? What woman in her right mind would say no?

"I highly doubt I'd be able to bankrupt him in only one afternoon," Narcissa grinned as well, shaking her head slightly at Bellatrix before looking back to Lucius. "Alright. I'll see you later then."

He nodded, sparing Bellatrix a frown before heading out. He wasn't entirely sure it was a good idea for his safety to leave his impressionable wife in the hands of her sadistic sister to deal out whatever sort of 'sisterly advice' the older woman had.

Once he was out of the manor, Narcissa sighed heavily and shook her head as she flopped back down into the chair she had been settled in for breakfast and caused her sister to cock an eyebrow at her curiously.

"I swear to Merlin, Bella, that man is going to drive me insane," she said with a roll of her eyes as Bella settled down and began picking at some toast.

"What's the matter, Cissy? Sex not good enough?" she asked with a smirk, taking a bite from the toast she'd just buttered.

Narcissa, at least, had the decency to blush at the question, eyes widened. But really, should she be so surprised by her sister's bluntness? She had grown up her. She should know better. "I'd rather not discuss that. Do you want to know what happened last night?"

"Well, I would rather not, but I have the feeling you're going to tell me anyway, so was there a point in asking?" the older one asked coolly, reaching over to snag a piece of bacon. There was another roll of her eyes before Narcissa tumbled in to an explanation as to what had happened. Bella's brows nearly disappeared. "And he made you put all the shoes away?"

"He told me to. But he fell asleep, so he couldn't really enforce it and I found a way to trick the house elf in to doing it," she replied, lip curled slightly in disgust. Really, Narcissa Black – er, Malfoy – putting away shoes, it was entirely out of the question! "And now he expects me to be a charm bracelet and accompany him to some ball at the ministry to make him look good."

"Well, how about this," Bella said, leaning forward to rest on her elbows lightly, grin spread across her face. "Let's… go shopping. Buy loads of expensive, pretty stuff that we'll never use. Have some ice cream for lunch. And then I'll tell you how to bring Lucius Malfoy down a notch or two."

* * *

The 31st. He had reminded her the night before that he would need her to be prepared to leave by six thirty and not a moment later. He had even reminded her that morning before he left for work that she needed to be ready to go within ten minutes of him getting home. It really wouldn't take him that long to dress, but Narcissa wasn't a 'him' and would thus probably take hours. Which was why when he got home and when to check that she was almost ready, he was incredibly surprised to find the woman still in her nightgown and curled up in bed with the curtains drawn and the room as dark as it could get. He flicked on a light.

"Narcissa, what the bloody hell are you doing?!" he snapped, staring at her in shock. There was no possible way she'd be ready to go by six thirty and he couldn't afford for them to be late. "I told you yesterday you had to be ready! I even reminded you this morning!"

There was a groan from the bed as Narcissa attempted to hide from the light as her eyes adjusted. She moved the sheets after a moment, hand at her forehead as she glared over at him slightly. Why did he have to make such a fuss when she so obviously didn't feel well?

"Stop yelling, would you?" she asked quietly, moving to rub one of her temples. "I'm afraid I can't be joining you tonight, make my excuses for me, would you?"

He stared, completely taken back and shook his head, moving to get the blankets off her. She needed to come. _He needed her to come_. "You're coming. Get your dress on. Throw some make up on. And let's get going. We'll be late, but it'll be alright."

"No, Lucius, I really can't. I've had a migraine for the better part of the day and I don't think I'd be able to do it," she said with a shake of her head, forcing tears up in to her eyes in a rather well practiced tactic.

"A headache? That's it?" he asked with a shake of his head. He'd never had one of these 'migraines' before, so really couldn't see how it could be that debilitating. "You'll get over it. Let's go."

"No, I-" she paused right there, hand flying to cover her mouth. There was two seconds before she got up and shoved Lucius out of the way, running to the bathroom and slamming the door behind her to be sick.

He stood there, sheets in hand, staring at the bathroom, where on the other side of the door he could so easily hear the wretches of his wife being sick. He couldn't take a woman who was throwing up to a ball. It would raise uncomfortable questions, inquiring the reason of her illness and if there might soon be further additions to the Malfoy family. When she came back out, he had to say he was slightly worried for the way her face was so flushed and her eyes were reddened. She certainly did not look well and he sighed, rubbing his own temple for a moment before making his decision.

"I can't take you anywhere when you look like that and would rather have you not throwing up on everyone," he said with a sigh, covering what would otherwise be a sentimental decision for her well being with a cold and calculated reason. "Get back to bed. Come on."

Narcissa gave him a look that mingled between apologetic and grateful as she slowly resettled herself in bed, pulling the blankets back up around her. Lucius gave her one last disapproving look before changing quickly in to his dress robes and heading out.

She waited until she was absolutely positive that he was gone before getting up out of the bed with a smirk well in place, feeling rather smug. That had been easier than she thought it would. She headed down the hallway and to one of the other floors, pushing open the door of a guest bedroom and cocking an eyebrow at her sister lounged on the bed in there.

"He gone?" Bella asked off-handedly, flipping one of the chairs around in the air out of pure boredom.

"He is gone and the night is ours," Narcissa answered with a grin still set in place.

"How'd you manage to convince him that you were sick?" she asked curiously, sitting up.

"I told him I had a migraine," Cissy said with a shrug, frowning slightly at the chair. "It wasn't very hard to make myself be sick just to prove the point. I've done it before to get out of some of mum's dinner parties."

Bella gave a wicked grin as she dropped the chair, looking over at Narcissa as she got up. "Then let's go get ready."

* * *

He hadn't come straight home after the party that night, having gotten slightly tipsy, just enough to cloud proper senses and allowed one of his friends to talk him in to further clubbing after 'that stuffy old ball'. And so, he hadn't found out that Narcissa hadn't been home. The next day, he'd woken up in on his friend's couch and decided that it was far too uncomfortable and he'd be sure to never allow this to happen again. He would never let Walden Macnair talk him in to this sort of thing again, especially not when he had a warm, comfortable bed at home, albeit there was a sick woman in it. But still, she wasn't contagious. And he had been slightly worried about her when he left.

So when he got home, rather than getting breakfast like he so wanted to do, or a hot shower to work out the kinks in his neck and back, he headed to the bedroom to check up on her. She was sleeping. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Probably a good thing and so he headed for his shower and then it was down to breakfast where the _Daily Prophet _was waiting near his seat.

The elf had just bought over breakfast as Lucius was unfolding the paper, going over the front page for anything interesting to read. Nothing. Next section. And so he continued that way, going through the sections to find anything interesting to read till he got to the social section and had to curl a lip. There would be nothing interesting there but gossip and, just as he was about to toss that section away, he noted his name and curiosity nicked at him. He paused before noting that the 'Malfoy' that caught his eye was referring to Mrs. Malfoy in an article on them both. A frown grew deeper and deeper on his face as he read the article from the beginning.

_At what should have been their social debut, Mr. and the new Mrs. Malfoy didn't seem to be able to show up arm in arm, as one would expect of a newlywed couple. Instead, this reporter had only Mr. Malfoy to question and he made his excuses for his new wife, citing that a migraine was what was detaining his recent bride._

_However, a fellow reporter gave me a little tip off that Mrs. Malfoy, who was supposedly suffering from a migraine, has been spotted in a nightclub in Paris with her sister, Bellatrix Lestrange…_

He trailed off at that point, starting to seethe. In a nightclub in Paris with Bellatrix? What had happened to her bloody migraine? He reached up to massage his temples for a moment. In all honesty, he didn't think his reputation could take much more damage from the Blacks. He also didn't think that, while he was out to pay them back for what the middle child had done, the youngest would have no problems in ruining him as he planned to ruin her. This had to be handled delicately.

He got up from his seat, his appetite for breakfast lost, and headed back upstairs to their bedroom, social section in hand. He didn't bother making sure that the door was quiet when it closed, the resounding sound waking his wife.

Narcissa groaned slightly, stirring under the blankets and cracking her eyes open to look over at her husband. She sighed and rubbed her eyes before sitting up to look over at the clock. She'd slept rather later than usual.

Lucius looked at her with his brows raised in mock surprise. "I'm so sorry, did I wake you? You don't usually sleep so late, I didn't expect you to still be in bed."

She groaned again before falling back in her pillows. "Are you just getting back?"

He gave her a smile in answer as he came over to sit on his side of the bed, kicking his feet up and leaning back in a reclined manner. "You know. I sat down for breakfast just now and started to pull through the _Prophet _to find something interesting to read. There was nothing on the headlines that caught my eyes. However, as I went through the page, my eyes did get caught, on the social section actually. A rather interesting read, actually. Would you like to know what it said?"

There was a deep frown crossing her face as he went through his brief little prologue to what she feared would not be a very pleasant conversation. "Would it happen to be on the Parkinsons?"

"No, not at all. Actually, it's about me. And you. And Bellatrix," he started before reading the article to her. All the while, her frown deepened and when he finished, the look he gave her did not settle well. "So what happened to your 'migraine'? Just… disappear right after I had left?"

"Um…" she started, pausing a moment. She was far too tired to think properly and the vague hangover wasn't helping much either. "Well, you see, I, uh. I owled Bella to come and keep me company, told her what was wrong. I didn't want to spend New Years alone. So she came and she brought along a potion to help relieve me of my ailment."

"Oh, of course, a potion," he said with a nod, contemplating that for a second. "So, you fixed your migraine… and rather than coming and joining me at the ball I said you needed to be at, you decided to go out clubbing in Paris? Tell me, how was Paris? Have fun, did you?"

"I didn't want to turn up late and I felt it would be rude to just abandon Bella after she helped me," Narcissa said with an uncomfortable look as she got up, deciding she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.

"Come off it, Narcissa, stop trying to lie your way out of this one," he snapped, losing the patience he'd been holding so well. "Bellatrix could have easily gone home and spent time with her husband, though I highly doubt that she came over with any sort of potion for your migraine. In fact, I highly doubt you even had a migraine. How long have you had this planned?"

Well, what was the point in lying? She sighed as she thought it over. "For about… oh… I dunno. Since you informed me of this ball, I think."

Malfoy frowned at that, shaking his head. "I told you, you needed to be there. Do you have any idea how bad this looks for me? One Black ditching me at the altar, the other gallivanting about Paris when there was a Ministry ball she should have been attending with me!"

"Yes, actually, I do know how bad this looks for you. Why do you think I did it?" she asked with a rather smug smile, getting out of the bed and heading for the vanity to brush her hair. "You had it coming, really. Did you honestly think that I was just going to let you abandoning me at dinner, followed by everything you said, just go as if it had never happened?"

He rubbed his face now with both hands as he got up as well. So that was the reasoning behind this. That was the whole thing behind this. His reputation really couldn't take it. How was he supposed to build his image when his wife was so obviously against him every step of the way? She was supposed to be submissive and make this easy for him! Bloody Blacks.

"I can't afford to have you doing this to me. And you so obviously know that," he said after a moment of thinking. This could have easily been a fight. And then she could have easily found another way to sabotage him. "We have to live with each other for the rest of our lives. How about a truce?"

What happened to the fight? Narcissa frowned in confusion and turned to face him, finding him now standing there and holding out a hand to seal the deal. A truce? Well, he did have a point. Why should they make each other miserable for the rest of their lives? She bit her lip a moment as she thought about it before sighing and reaching out to shake the offered hand. A truce it was.


	6. Chapter 6: Showdown At The Embassy

_**Disclaimer: **__We all know that I don't own the Malfoy's, the Black's, or anyone else from Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfics, would I? I just get to hold their leashes._

_**A/N:**__ I realize that some of you couldn't review chapter five on chapter five since I deleted my A/N chapter, so I enabled anonymous reviews. But you could always make it up to me on this chapter since I made it up to you guys with this being my longest chapter. __Sorry about that.__ )  
_

* * *

**Chapter Six:**  
Showdown At The Embassy

A truce it was. Lucius and Narcissa had managed to get along for the remainder of her holiday, which was only about three more days. He took her to the train station. They'd even come to the agreement that he'd meet her in Hogsmeade when she had trips there. And so when he had left her at Kings Cross Station at the end of her winter vacations, things between the two of them were on a somewhat good note. At least they weren't still fighting.

For the most part, over the remainder of the year, Lucius had come through on his promises to visit her on Hogsmeade weekends and send her the occasional letter. He had even remembered to send her a gift on Valentine's Day, a necklace he actually hoped she would like. And it was unnerving him how much he found he could potentially like her in the time he spent with her and how alone he suddenly felt without her. It had seemed he had forgotten about his original decision to make her pay for her sister's sins.

Between those Hogsmeade visits and letters, he spent most of his time consumed by the family company, balancing out the bills for it and finding different, better methods of making more money that they really didn't need. He'd gone clubbing maybe two or three times, but didn't really have the same taste for it. That is, until the middle of May when Walden Macnair convinced him to come out with several others to a gentlemen's club.

He had just gotten a seat and settled in next to his friend when said friend attempted to buy him a dance and Lucius turned it down, earning himself a frown.

"What, that ring around your finger choking you there, mate?" Walden asked over the loud music, glancing over at the disappointed woman that had just been turned away. "Maybe you should take it off. Come on, you're not at all like you used to be. You used to enjoy this! Now you act like a tired old man and you're barely nineteen years old!"

He spared a glare before shrugging slightly and taking a drink from his fire whiskey (Lucius really liked fire whiskey) and looked down at the ring still on his finger, twirling it slightly on his finger. "I just… lost interest in it. The ring is not choking me, as you so elegantly put it. I'm merely bored with this sort of life-style."

Walden cocked an eyebrow over at Lucius, sizing him up for a moment before, "Bored with beautiful women who are more than willing to take their clothes off and dance naked on your lap? How could you possibly tire of gorgeous females who would jump at the chance to make everyone one of your sexual fantasies come true?"

Grey eyes rolled accompanied by a shake of the head. "Walden, there is more to life than beautiful women and sex."

"Really?" Walden asked, completely surprised by that statement. He frowned as he thought about it before shaking his head. "Nope, I can't think of a single thing better than that. What more to life is there, oh wise one?"

"Maybe… growing up? I don't know yet, I haven't decided, I'll get back to you on that," Malfoy replied, frowning as he thought it over himself.

"You know what I think it is?" Macnair asked, looking over at him with raised brows. At Lucius's questioning look, he continued on. "Me thinks you've got some feelings for that little wife of yours, there. Now, I don't blame you, she is rather nice to look at, I'd love to see exactly what she keeps covered up. But you've definitely gone soft there, Malfoy."

Lucius bristled at the diagnosis, glaring coldly. "Me? Soft? You know, I don't think the two go together. I have not gone soft; I have no feelings for Narcissa; and I certainly have no intentions of letting anyone, especially you, see exactly what she keeps covered up."

The other man laughed, shaking his head. "Then prove it, Lucius. Prove you're not soft and that these feelings are merely figments conjured purely by my imagination."

"And how do you expect me to do that?" he drawled, taking another sip of his drink.

Macnair smirked at him. "Take off that ring… and let me buy you a dance."

Lucius looked down at the white gold band on his finger, marking him as a married man. The only thing he could think as he removed the ring and placed it in one of his inner pockets so as not to lose it was that he sincerely hoped that Narcissa never found out about this. And then he questioned why he should care.

* * *

She hadn't gotten one owl for the remaining three weeks of school she had left. Not that she expected Lucius to be writing her every day, but still. Was one owl to inform her if he'd be meeting her at the train station or to let her know he was too busy and to head home on her own a little too much to ask? Narcissa really did prefer to know what was going on rather than being surprised. Especially if there was the possibility of being left waiting.

Once the train ride was over and Narcissa stepped out on to the platform, she glanced around. No parents, but she hadn't really expected them. But there was no Lucius, either, and she just wasn't sure what to do. She bit her lip, waiting while the platform cleared. Where was she supposed to go? Sure, she could Disapparate. But she wasn't entirely sure of the location of the Malfoy Manor. Perhaps she'd go and wander around Diagon Alley for a few hours before heading to her parents' house. Surely, they'd either have an owl or know where to go. And just as she had decided that, the last two or three families were leaving, a familiar someone else had arrived on the platform, causing Narcissa to rest her hands on her hips, cock an unamused eyebrow, and tap her high-heeled booted foot impatiently.

"You're late," she accused as soon as Lucius was close enough.

"Nonsense. I always wait until all the hustle and bustle is over," he said, waving a hand dismissively as he shrunk her trunk, picked it up and pocketed it.

"Ah, I see," she said with a nod as her hands left her hips and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you think you could have, you know, maybe owled me and let me know that?"

"I did owl you, though," he said with a frown before, "Didn't I?" he asked and, after getting a shake of the head from her, he thought about before, "Oh! Right. I wrote you the letter. And put it down on my desk to finish something else, and then Walden came over and I got completely distracted and forgot."

She stared at him. He had forgotten? Was she really that hard to remember? That really did make her feel great. But still, at least he had showed up for her. It took her a moment to realize that he had his arm out for her to take. Oh, right. She reached out and took his offered arm as was manners and she felt that appalling feeling of being sucked through a straw, causing her to redouble her grip on his arm, before her feet finally met the graveled road just in front of the manor. She had not been expecting that either, figuring that they'd go for a short walk or something to a floo grate.

"Do you think that, next time you decide to pull me along, you could give me some warning first?" she asked faintly as she caught her breath again, releasing her hold on him to straighten out her outfit.

He looked over at her with a small frown, shaking his head slightly, completely confused. "Why?"

"Never mind," she muttered with a roll of her eyes as she started walking up to the manor, all the while mentally cussing him out. She was just not a happy girl and he really wasn't making it any better. They had parted on decent terms. Those decent terms no longer existed.

Lucius frowned after her, thinking for a moment. It was going to be a long rest of their lives if the times that they got along were few and far between. He followed up after her, making up the ground quickly enough and coming to walk beside her.

"So, tonight, the elves will put out dinner around six-ish," he started off, pausing a moment to pull open the front door for her. "No need to dress for it. I, unfortunately, won't be able to make it to join you tonight. I've got other plans."

She frowned back at him. "Other plans?" she asked disdainfully. Her first night being a freshly graduated Hogwarts student, having not been in this house for nearly six months, she was hoping for at least a little more company than a house elf. "You're- you're going to leave me alone?"

"I'm sure you'll be fine, the house doesn't bite," he replied with a roll of his eyes as he continued to lead the way up a flight of stairs and to the rooms. "It's a friend of mine's birthday and we promised that we'd take him out to his favorite club."

Narcissa was trying to find a way to bridge the gap, to get them to find even footing and remain there. And to get out of this house. It was far to large, it made her uneasy to be alone in it. "What if I come with you to this club?"

Lucius raised his eyebrows at her as they stopped in front of a door. They wouldn't be sharing bedrooms. Not until both of them were comfortable enough with the other. Or maybe never if Lucius decided that he wanted to continue having flings and wanted his bedroom to himself.

"I don't think you'd enjoy yourself very much. Here, this is your room," he changed the subject, opening the door and stepping in, putting the shrunk trunk on the floor and resizing it properly.

"Right," she answered with a deflated sigh before coming to an idea. "Can I have my sister over?"

"I… guess…" he said slowly, not enjoying the idea. But at least it would keep Narcissa from coming along to a gentleman's club, The Embassy, and finding out what he had started to enjoy doing. However, he could admit that now, with his wife home, it would only be more exciting, hiding things.

* * *

He'd been enjoying himself. Whilst his friend was off dancing with some girl in a rather revealing outfit, Lucius had settled in with two girls on his right and one on his left, wedding ring tucked safely in his pocket. Tonight was going far better than he had thought it would, the only difference being this annoying, nagging voice in the back of his head that kept informing him that his wife was rather beautiful, had legs that so far, no woman could compete with, and would probably be very willing on her first night of freedom from school. He easily argued back that the challenge with her was gone.

But then he heard a laugh that sounded familiar. Reassuring himself that it was just his imagination, that the voice nagging at him had done it, he leaned over and continued on with his conversation with the girls. There was the laugh again.

Frown in place, he craned his neck to glance around the club. There, in a break in the crowd, was the woman from whom the laugh had come. Narcissa had her head tilted back as she laughed at another joke before shaking her head, wide grin spread across her face and glanced over at her sister, who looked positively smug as she eyed Lucius.

_Bitch._ Bellatrix had done this on purpose. And… wait. What was that man doing? Someone had leaned rather close to his wife – _his wife _– HIS – and was whispering something in to her ear while one of his hands seemed dangerously close to running up her hip. His lip had risen in a slight snarl, causing the girls around him to frown.

"Is something wrong, handsome?" the one to his left had asked, placing one of her spidery hands on Lucius' knee.

"Excuse me," he said decidedly and pushed her out of her seat so he could get up, causing the three of them to give him disgruntled looks. He ignored them and instead made his way over to Narcissa. The other man had sat back down, eyes still on Narcissa, wide smile on his face as his hand had taken a resting spot on her knee. He came up, noticing that Narcissa had, as well, tucked her wedding rings away. Probably by Bellatrix's doing. He placed a hand on the small of her back and glared the other man off as Narcissa jumped slightly and turned to face her husband.

"Lucius! Fancy meeting you here. How can I help you?" she asked with a grin as Bellatrix turned away from the man who had just been about to jump her to listen in to this conversation, smirk on her face. Lucius noticed and decided that he didn't want this conversation so near her.

"Dance with me," he said decisively, putting slightly pressure on her back to get her to stand.

"You know, I think I'm good," she said with a shake of her head and a smile for him as she looked back to her confused admirer.

Lucius glared at the man again before leaning in a little closer to take a firmer grip, his tone making his mood rather clear. "I wasn't asking."

Narcissa looked back at him, sizing him up while she decided before sighing and putting her drink down, getting out of her seat and heading out on to the crowed mesh of people. Lucius issued a threat for the flirter, a glare for his sister-in-law, then followed her out.

"What do you think you're doing? Here? Flirting with that… thing? Where are you rings?" he asked as they began their dance.

"Bella convinced me and I quite agree. On my graduation night, I shouldn't be stuck at home being an old maid. I'm seventeen. I wanted to live a little," she said with a shrug, looking off to the side. "It's flirting. You know. Same thing you were doing with those three girls at that table over there. And, from what I hear, less than you've been doing for the passed few weeks. My rings are missing in action, as it happens. As is yours."

He growled slightly. Of course Bella would be behind this. She had talked Narcissa in to coming out, had purposely chosen this club, had undoubtedly told Narcissa to remove the rings that said she was spoken for.

"You're going home. You're putting your rings back on. And then you're going to change out of this… is that a dress?" he asked, eyeing the scandalous black thing she was wearing. "Whatever it is, it's going in the fire. And then you're going to bed. We'll talk in the morning."

Narcissa seemed to consider this for a moment before she shook her head, nose crinkled slightly. "No, I'm good. I think I'm going to go back to my sister, my drink, and my admirers. You can go back to yours."

He was taken back by her answer, eyes widened slightly. "What do you mean, no?"

"No. In the negative form. Meaning that I have no intentions of returning home on your whim," she said as she stepped back for a twirl.

"And why the bloody hell not?" he snarled as he pulled her flush up against him, still glaring down at her. This past winter, that glare had been enough to get her to back down, even if he did end up buying her a massive amount of presents to make up for it. Sending her back to school, it seemed, had been a bad idea.

"Why the bloody hell should I?" she asked, brows raised curiously. "I see no reason as to why I should sit at home all night, on the night of my graduation, alone, when my husband, who ought to be home with me for at least one night, is out at clubs with girls hanging all over him?"

"What I do is none of your business!" he snapped, losing patience with this fight already.

"You're my _husband,_ it is my business if you're out putting bastards in the stomachs of other women," she returned, glaring right back up at him. "But if that's how you want to play, that's how we'll play. None of what you do is any of my business. Then none of what I do is any of your business. You go back to your two-knut whores; I'll go back to the gentlemen that are actually taking an interest in me. If you can't handle that, perhaps you should actually try being faithful."

That sounded like a challenge. He wasn't going to let her get away with that either. They'd continue this discussion at home. But for now, he'd drive her to cracking point. "Fine. Then let's play."

"Fine," she snapped back at him as they finished their dance and returned to their respective seats with another glare.

Bellatrix frowned at her sister. "So. What's the verdict?"

Narcissa glared at Lucius one moment longer before getting an idea. A grin crossed her face as she leaned over and whispered something in to the ear of her older sister, who got an evil grin. Then, the two girls leaned over to two others and whispered in to their ears, causing a chain reaction to go through the club. Work done, Narcissa settled back in with Bellatrix to continue her flirting while she awaited the response that was sure to come.

Anastasia, who had rejoined Lucius after some convincing, had taken a seat in his lap and was at his ear when one of the other girls came back and tugged at her friend, eyeing Lucius nervously before whispering in to her friend's ear. The whisper caused Anastasia to jump off of Lucius' lap and slapped him across his face. "What the hell is your problem, you pervert?! What, you weren't going to tell me?!"

Malfoy was incredibly shocked. He stared up at her, cheek reddened from where she hit and embarrassed by her shout. "What's your problem?! Tell you what?!"

"That you- you-" she stuttered, shaking her head as her friend finished the statement in a loud whisper. "That you've got a sexually transmitted disease! You were just going to get her sick and not tell her!"

He stared. He. Had. A. What? Where in the name of Merlin did that come from? "What are you talking about?"

"Don't act all innocent," she accused, looking at him as if he were a thing that disgusted her. "Come on Ana. Let's go before he infects us."

"You nasty," Anastasia added before flouncing off with her friend, leaving Lucius looking incredibly dumbstruck.

It took a moment for Lucius to realize that there were whisperings going on around him and it suddenly seemed blaringly obvious that all females in there were either avoiding him, glaring at him, or giving him pitying glances. It took another moment for his confusion to turn in to a fury. Narcissa.

He got up and made his way back to his wife, who now had six men around her and her sister, another alcoholic drink in her hand. This time, he ignored the rest of them as he snapped at her. "What the hell are you playing at?!"

Narcissa gave him an innocent look. "Whatever are you talking about, Lucius?"

"You're bloody telling people I've got a-" he started loudly, realizing people were watching and leaned in to whisper the offending term, "A STD?!"

This caused Narcissa to laugh and she shook her head. "Oh, no, Lucius. I didn't tell people you had an STD. Bella did. I told them that you had a small, uh. Member. And a bit of a problem with pre-ejaculation and that it was thus difficult for you to satisfy a woman."

She did what? He stared at her. Game time was over. They weren't playing anymore. She'd gone too far. "We're going home."

"No, I'm good," she said, or was starting to when Lucius, who decided not to wait for her answer, had taken her arm in a vice grip, glared once more at his sister-in-law (he'd deal with the vile woman later) and pulled her along home, much like he'd done at the train station. He led her up the walk, not releasing his grip as they got inside and slammed the door. He finally let go only to remove his cloak once he'd slammed the door to their bedroom behind him. Narcissa rubbed her arm, glaring at him.

"What the hell was that for? It was highly uncalled for. I was having fun. I wasn't ready to come home. Now, if you don't mind," she started, attempting to get around him to head back out.

He put out an arm to stop her, effectively blocking the door before forcing her to back up. "No. You're not going anywhere, Narcissa. Especially not back out to that club so you can whore yourself off."

"You're calling me the whore?" she asked, looking him up and down as she was forced to take another step back. "You're the one who's slept with anything in a skirt. Who knows by now, maybe that little rumor of Bella's might actually be true. How should I know if you've screwed something that's diseased or not?"

The look on his face was borderline insane as he slammed her back up against the wall before putting a hand on either side of her head. "You insolent little bitch. You know no bounds, do you?"

"I don't know, you cocky little asshole. Do you?" she snapped back venomously, refusing to back down. There was a crack as he slapped her across the face followed by a loud groan of pain as she returned the favor with a knee to the groin. Lucius had doubled over and backed off slightly as he attempted to regain his composure while Narcissa rubbed her reddened cheek. Well, that taught him to slap her. Once he finally straightened back out, the anger had not faded but rather intensified while Narcissa glared at him. "Hit me again, Lucius. I dare you."

The tone made him think twice about that. He most certainly did not want to make the dull pain he now felt any worse and definitely didn't want a repeat of the pain he just felt. So he kept his distance from her knees. "You are _my_ wife. You belong to me! Those rings that should be on your finger make that very clear. You'd do best not to forget that."

"Just as that ring that belongs on your finger marks you as mine!" Narcissa snapped back as she advanced, closing the distance. "You'd do best not to forget _that_. You belong to me and I will not have you out screwing whomever you like."

Did she really think that she was going to be giving the orders in this relationship? His lip rose again in complete contempt. "It doesn't work like that, darling. You do as I say; I do as I want. You need to learn that."

"And you need to learn that I'm not going to sit here like some old maid and waste away till you decide you want children from me," she returned easily. "If you're going to go out clubbing and screwing, then so am I."

No. She couldn't do that. He wasn't going to allow her to. There would never be the possibility of her getting herself pregnant with some bastard. She'd shame the name. He regained his confidence as he pushed her back up against the wall, this time pinning her close so she couldn't kick him. "The only person you'll be screwing, Mrs. Malfoy, is _me_."

"That goes both ways, Mr. Malfoy," she snapped at him, staring him down as he attempted to stare her down. There was another moment before their lips met in a violent clash as they explored a new level in their relationship.

Outside, Lottie was cleaning up some dust on the tables that randomly littered the hallway with vases full of flowers. She looked up in shock and had to hope that her new mistress, whom she happened like quite a bit, was all right. She'd never heard anyone scream like that.


	7. Chapter 7: A Date With My Wife

_**Disclaimer: **__We all know that I don't own the Malfoy's, the Black's, or anyone else from Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfics, would I? I just get to hold their leashes._

_**A/N: **__This chapter is purely fluff to build up to what's coming next. I'm terrible at writing fluffy stuff, which would be why this took so long and is so crappy. ) Yes, I know there's a bit of out of character-ness going on. But, like I said, terrible at fluff. It's also my second shortest chapter. It makes me sad._

* * *

**Chapter Seven:  
**A Date With My Wife

He stood in the doorway of a room that Narcissa had claimed as her own, watching as the woman was entirely distracted by the potion she was making. Her hair was tied up in a flimsy ponytail, stray strands tucking out everywhere, her robes were a little singed on the hems of the sleeves from getting too close to the fire, her lower lip was tucked back between her teeth in concentration, her brows furrowed, a quill tucked behind her ear, and she looked entirely a mess. And yet, this look worked for him. Yes, he liked her when she was pristine and polished, a charm he could show off to society. But there was a different sort of charm to this.

It was blaringly obvious that she needed to concentrate. And she was concentrating so hard that she hadn't even noticed him. A smirk pulled at the corners of his lips and he walked in quietly, moving to stand behind her. He was quiet as he looked over her shoulder and, just as she was about to add something, "Are you sure you're supposed to do that?"

The sudden voice startled her and, rather than carefully adding the essence of dittany, she spilt the whole content of the vial. The potion reacted rather angrily and bubbled over, making a mess of her rather expensive high-heeled boots and burning a hole in the side of one of them.

She growled slightly in response, eyes closed as she got her tempter back into control. "You ass. Do you have any idea how long I've had to let that sit and brew before I could add the dittany? And do you know how close I was to finishing it?"

"Hey, at least it didn't blow up and burn your face," he offered with a grin, stepping back out of the mess before his own shoes were beyond repair.

"At least it didn't blow up?" she repeated, giving him an incredulous look. "Lucius, it's taken me seven months to get it this far! It would have been done next week!"

"Oh, relax, Narci. We can just buy you some, it's not that hard to do," he said with a shake of his head as he leaned on a cauldron and knocked it over, toppling with it. He got up quickly and dusted off his clothes and picked up a quick conversation topic to avoid the embarrassment. "What were you making anyway?"

She fought down her laugh at his ever so graceful show, shaking her head slightly. "I was making a potion to help with the pain associated with a feminine problem that you'd really rather not know about."

"Oh. Right. Feminine… things… problems… Yeah," he muttered, nose crinkled. How was it healthy for a woman to bleed so much every four weeks? He'd had a panic attack when he found all those feminine things that had been added in to the master bathroom and had gone out and purchased her a special dresser for it all. But this wasn't really a better topic of conversation than his fall was. He was now at a loss of what to say, his brows creased as he tried to come up with something.

"What are you doing here, Lucius?" she asked once she figured out that he was at a loss.

He looked at her for a moment, blinking. What was he doing here? He'd gotten distracted by the talk of feminine issues. Oh. Right. He shrugged. "I got out of work early, I was bored, I decided to come and see what my wife was doing."

She cocked an eyebrow at him curiously, arms crossed. "Really now? Came to see what I was doing or came to sabotage my potion?"

"Actually, they both seemed like good ideas at the time," he said with a nod as he contemplated that. Perhaps he shouldn't have ruined her potion. But, really, his wife shouldn't waste her time doing such a trivial, servant sort of thing. Not that he'd trust any potion made by a servant with her.

"Do they seem like such a good idea now?" she asked, almost like she was teaching a five year old a lesson, arms crossed.

Lucius thought for a moment, going over everything before nodding with a smile. "Yes, they still seem like good ideas."

"You're hopeless," she said with a shake of her head as she pulled out her wand and started to clean up the mess. She'd throw away the boots and buy some new ones later.

"Or maybe I'm just wonderful and you won't admit it," he returned, brows raised, smirk in place as he attempted to get under her skin.

She looked over at him with a frown, shaking her head. "You're so conceited. You know that, right?"

"I know I'm conceited, that's hardly news," Malfoy shrugged, dismissing the conversation. There were other things on his mind. "Anyway. That's neither here nor there and not what I came in here for, nor did I come specifically to ruin your potion."

Narcissa gave him a curious glance this time as she was putting her things away, no longer so in the mood to work on potions. "Then what did you come in here for?"

"Well, I made some reservations for dinner tonight at some place down in France that I thought would be entertaining to go to," he said after a moment, playing with her scales. "So, I expect you to be ready by 5:30 since they're for 6. Dress warm, France gets chilly this time of year at night and I can only wear one cloak, two just to have a spare for you would look odd."

She stared at him through this before letting a smirk cross her face. "Lucius Malfoy, are you… asking me on a date?"

Lucius scoffed. Of course she wouldn't make it easy. "Darling, we're already married. Kind of passed the point of requesting a date, I think. That said, no, I'm not asking you on a date. I'm telling you that you're going on a date with me tonight."

"And what if I had a previous engagement?" she asked curiously. She did, actually, have a previous engagement. Yes, she could cancel it or move it around and probably would. But she'd like to know the answer first.

"I'm fairly positive that it can be changed," he said with a shrug, handing her the scales he had been toying with so she could put them away. "In fact, it would be in your better interest to change it around. You're not going to want to miss dinner. I'll see you tonight."

Narcissa cocked an eyebrow after him as he left, curious and confused. Why wouldn't she want to miss dinner tonight? Was there something important going on that she had somehow managed to forget about? She mused for a moment, biting her lip, before coming to a decision. She'd have to reschedule with her friend.

* * *

It was a rather lovely restaurant and she could now see why she wouldn't want to miss dinner. It was turning out to be one of those dates that her friends would have back in school, and then they'd come floating back in to the dormitory room and gossip for hours. Admittedly, she hadn't joined in on the gossip, nor did she intend to go back to a dormitory room to gossip about this date. She'd just get Bella over some time tomorrow or the day after to discuss things with. She'd need advice, and desperately, before the week was out.

By the time they got to their reserved table and Lucius had ordered off the wine list, Narcissa was giving him a bit of a suspicious look. He returned her look with a confused frown, glancing around him before looking back at her. What had he done wrong already?

"This is nice and all," she started, making him frown a little deeper. "But what's it all about?"

Nice? This was just… nice? Oh, wait. He forgot the and all part. He made a slight face at that. "What, I can't take my wife out to dinner every now and again?"

"Not without some sort of string attached," she said with a shake of her head. "All things considered, this isn't exactly a normal thing for out relationship."

"Well. Maybe I want to make it a normal thing for our relationship," he said with a shrug, picking up his wine glass after the waiter filled it. "Is that a problem?"

Narcissa had to give him a frown. "You are a rather confusing man, Lucius."

He thought for a moment before deciding that he couldn't reach the same conclusion she had. "Yeah, I don't see that."

She had to smile, shaking her head. Of course he didn't see that. "Well, what do you see, then?"

Lucius thought for a moment, staring off to the side. It took a few minutes before he looked back at her with a shrug. "I see a lot of things. Some of them are nice and… some of them are not so nice."

"Well, ah… what are some of the nice things?" she asked, leaning forward slightly to rest her elbows on the table and her chin on the back of her laced together hands.

He looked back at her, considering his answer as the waiters came and dropped off the appetizers. That was the nice thing about this restaurant, he had ordered everything before hand and didn't have to bother with menus and the like. Once the waiters were gone, he turned his attention back to the matter on hand.

"Some nice things I see. Well. I see… the appetizers and it looks rather delicious," he started, shaking his head slightly. "I see a beautiful woman sitting across from me, asking me silly questions."

"Silly questions, huh?" she asked, bringing her elbows off the table to drape the napkin across her lap.

"Yes. Silly questions, like why I'm taking you to dinner and what I see," he said with a shrug. "I'm taking you to dinner because I want to, I do not need an ulterior motive. And I see the exact same things you see, we're in the same place."

Narcissa frowned at him now. He was so moody. "Have you ever been to a doctor, Lucius?"

It was his turn to frown and look at her in confusion. "And what, exactly, would I need a doctor for, Narcissa?"

She stared back at him, debating whether or not she was going to answer that how she wanted to. He needed to get his head checked, that was for sure. But it might insult him. "Nevermind."

After a confused shake of his head, he went back to the salad in front of him. The silence that settled was vaguely comfortable. He didn't feel the need to talk. But she, as it seemed, did.

Narcissa paused again before deciding she had nothing to lose by asking. "Why did you chose me?"

Lucius looked up from his plate, once again confused. "What?'

"You could have been rid of the Blacks and collected a nice sum from my father in compensation for what happened. But… you chose me instead. I was just wondering, why?" she repeated, playing with her fork uncomfortably.

Damn it, why'd she have to ask that, of all things? Especially right now? Lucius sighed before shrugging. "I was pissed and you were Daddy's favorite. I figured if I got you and made your life a living hell, he'd be miserable too."

"So. You… forced my father's hand to make him miserable?" she asked, brows raised. "You know, two can play at that game."

"Basically," he said with a nod. Well, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. "Oh, trust me, sweetheart. I know that by now. And you don't play the game fair."

"Well, you're the one who wanted to start the game. You should have known that I wouldn't make it easy," she said with a shake of her head, tone making it plain she was rather angry. It made Lucius smile.

"You know, you're rather pretty when you're angry. I need to make you angry more often," he said with a small laugh before returning to the salad.

"You are such an ass sometimes," she snapped at him, pushing her own salad away.

He looked back up at her, eyebrow cocked. "How so?"

"For the reasons you just told me as to why you chose me, for starters," she pointed out. "And then you seem to want me to be angry, which is not very nice."

"Yes, that's the reason I chose you last December. Like I said, I was angry, it was the best idea at the time. But that doesn't mean that's the same reason that I've got right now," he said uncomfortably. "And it's not my fault you're rather pretty when you're angry."

There he went, confusing her again. She looked at him with a frown, shaking her head slightly. "Then what are your reasons now?"

"That's not very important," he said impatiently, shaking his head again. "Look, just… eat your salad."

"Lucius, I'm not done talking to you," she said stubbornly, not willing to let it go.

He shrugged, poking at his salad. "Fine. Then you talk. I'm done talking, so I'm going to eat my salad."

* * *

"We should get your belly button pierced, it's rather appealing," he said as he pulled her body closer to his in the large bed, playing idly with her hair. He decided that he liked her hair quite a bit. So far, with the conditions they made of their marriage perfectly obvious, he had no problem with any of it. It actually wasn't that hard to be a one-woman man if he stuck to it and she kept wearing those pencil skirts.

"Okay, you first then," Narcissa responded lazily, eyes closed, head on his chest comfortably.

"I'd rather not. We should pierce somewhere else then, somewhere lower," Lucius suggested with a rather wicked smirk.

"Okay, you first then," she repeated, fighting down a yawn. Well. Almost no problems.

Lucius pouted. That didn't work too well. But didn't jealousy and the need to compete work? "My girlfriend would do it."

"Then perhaps you ought to marry her," she said with her brows raised as she got on to her elbows to look up at him before climbing over and out of the bed, grabbing a robe.

"Where are you going, Narci?" he frowned as she got up, looking at her in confusion. Wait. Did she really think he had a girlfriend? Was she offended? "You know I don't really have a girlfriend, right?"

He merely got a smirk in response as she disappeared in to the adjoining bathroom and a few minutes later, he heard the water running. Oh. Okay. She wasn't angry, just going to take a bath. Which sounded splendid, actually. He got out of the bed quickly and moved to join her.

"Well, if we can't pierce your belly or your downstairs, can we get you tattooed? I was thinking my name in big, flashy letters across your rear," he said jokingly. He had absolutely no intention of allowing her to get a tattoo or to get pierced anywhere. But the idea was still entertaining.

She gave him the invitation, once again, for him to go first as she filled the water in the tub with her favorite bubble bath. He wasn't going to get anywhere with this woman, but he'd enjoy trying.


	8. Chapter 8: Out In The Open

_**Disclaimer: **__We all know that I don't own the Malfoys, the Blacks, or anyone else from Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfics, would I? I just get to hold their leashes._

_**A/N: **__So… Anyone wanna tell me what happens in chapter nine? Because I have no friggin clue. And I'm sorry this one took so long. I'm losing inspiration for this fic while I'm finding my new one more fun to write. So until I get some inspiration or ideas, hint hint, this story is kinda on Hiatus. :(  
_

* * *

**Chapter Eight:**  
Out In The Open

Later that day, Narcissa had gone over to the Lestrange home, her older sister sending Rodolphus off to do who knows what so that the sisters could catch up. And some catching up it would be. She settled down in an over stuffed couch near the cold fireplace, tea in hand while Bellatrix eyed her.

"You're doing a very naughty thing there, Cissy," Bella said after a few minutes, startling her sister.

"Am I? I hadn't realized that sitting on your couch near your fireplace with a cup of tea was naughty," she said slowly, shaking her head. She had come here for advice and was now avoiding the subject that she needed advice on.

"You know what I mean," the darker woman said, grabbing a cube of sugar. Not for her tea, just because she enjoyed cubes of sugar. "With Lucius. _To _Lucius."

Narcissa frowned and put her tea down. It was useless to deny it, but it still wasn't fun to talk about. "I can't help it. I thought he was, while I was in school. And you thought he was too!"

"No, I didn't," Bella replied with a shake of her head, grabbing another sugar.

"No, you didn't?" she repeated, looking at Bella in confusion. She didn't? Didn't what?

"No, I didn't think that he was cheating on you. I knew he wasn't," Bellatrix said dismissively.

Narcissa gave her a horrified look. "You… You knew he wasn't cheating on me and let me think he was instead? Why would you do that?"

"It wasn't my business to get in to and you never asked," she said with a shake of her head, sighing. "He wasn't answering your owls as often, nor sending his own because the Dark Lord keeps us busy. Some more than others," she paused for a small smile, as if remembering something, before continuing, "And then when he wasn't performing duties for the war, he was working. And maybe two or three times he went out with Walden, who insisted on buying lap dances from trampy women. But there was only a month left until you were out, so it was pointless when he'd see you soon anyway."

Narcissa started at her sister, completely shocked. Bella knew that Lucius hadn't actually been taking other women to bed and hadn't bothered to let her know because the woman considered it none of her business?

"Merlin, Bella, whose side are you on?!" Narcissa snapped, rather put off with her sister at the current moment. "Wait, but what about the night I came home from school?"

Bella paused for a moment to think about it, before shrugging with a smile. "I am on whichever side isn't losing at the time. Besides, this is amusing and I never thought you'd go that far. And the night you came home school, he had business there from Voldemort. He was supposed to be meeting someone and ended up getting punished for not meeting said person because he got distracted by your flirting."

"You're worse than he is, do you know that?" Narcissa snapped, getting up from her seat. Damned sister. She was supposed to be on the side of her own flesh and blood! And then she'd screwed something up for Lucius and he had gotten in to trouble with Him for it, all because Bella had taken her to the Embassy and encouraged it all. It explained why he had come home limping the next night and refusing to talk to her. "I should hex you. Just for the hell of it."

"I don't think you'd get very far if you tried, Cissa," Bella said with shake of her head, smirking. "But what brings all of this on, anyway? You certainly didn't care last I saw you."

"No, I probably wouldn't," she sighed and flopped back down gracelessly. Hey, there was no one around to impress, she could flop if she wanted to. "I don't think you'd understand, Bella."

The older sister stared at her before a look of dawning crossed her face and she grinned wickedly. "Is my dear little sister falling in love?"

Bellatrix got a glare in return. If there were something nearby that didn't consist of a hot cup of tea – say, a pillow, maybe – she'd have had it hurled at her head. Unfortunately, though, Narcissa didn't have a pillow.

"No, Bellatrix. I'm not falling in love. At this stage, that would be foolish," she snapped. _And even if I were, I wouldn't tell you. _She shook her head before looking a bit distracted. "He is the one who is evidently developing… feelings. Though he wouldn't actually say that. It's just… the way he acts and the things he does."

This only served to make Bella's grin even more wicked, if that was even possible. "Ohhh… So it's Lucius who's falling in love? This sounds like it'll be fun…"

"Oh, Bella, don't!" she said quickly, nearly pleading. "Don't you dare go and tease or – or pick on him or something. You just leave him alone."

There was this twinkle in Bella's eyes, now, that completely unnerved Narcissa. "Why not? What are you going to do about it?"

"I am asking you, as your little sister, to please leave this be so I can figure it out in my own good time," Narcissa said quickly, before adding on, in what she figured would make Bella back off for now, "And when I come to a decision, I'll let you know when you can start your taunting. Just… not now."

How could she seriously deny her little sister a request? Bella sighed and looked away. Damned Narcissa. "Fine. I'll leave it be until you tell me I can taunt him. And that had better be soon, I don't like waiting."

"Whatever," was the final response as Narcissa got up from her seat again. This visit was over, there were other things Narcissa had to be getting around to.

* * *

The picnic had been the last place he wanted to be at. Yes, Narcissa looked lovely in that sundress. And the weather was rather beautiful. But something about today just wasn't working for him. Maybe it was because last night, Narcissa had seemed rather distracted and vaguely depressed after a visit to her sister. It took Lucius nearly an hour to get the woman to look at him and, after barely ten minutes of talking, she got a depressed look, snapped something about having things to do, then headed off to her room. How were they supposed to try and make this marriage work as easily as possible if she wouldn't talk to him? He didn't want to be stuck in this life with a woman who drove him mad with her silence.

He cast a glance over at his wife, sitting with a bunch of other women, chattering on about something or other. After a moment, one of the women, who had a six-month-old sitting on her lap, frowned at something and handed the baby over to Narcissa, ignoring the protests from the blonde woman, so she could dig in to her diaper bag to find something. Narcissa pinched her nose in distaste, holding the child out as far as she possibly could.

It took a few seconds before Narcissa's face relaxed, looking at the babe's face before… the disgusted look returned and her lip curled up as the child spit up on her lap. She looked away impatiently and caught Lucius' eyes, then shook her head, mouthing a very clear, 'Never'. He cocked an eyebrow at her as the mother apologized and pulled out her wand, cleaning up the mess and taking the baby back once she had the bottle ready. Well. There went the talk of them just having a son already so they could painlessly ignore each other.

"Ow! Malfoy, watch what you're bloody doing!" one of the other men snapped, making Lucius pull out of his musings and look over at the current husband of Isabelle, who was sitting next to him. Something Zabini. Isabelle's last few husbands seemed to have come up short and somehow, mysteriously and accidentally, ended up six feet under. None of them had managed to last more than three years. He'd been there for how long? Considering circumstances, it probably wasn't a very healthy relationship for him. Was he aware of any of that?

Then Lucius noticed what had happened. The cigarette he'd been ignoring had ashed on to the other man's leg. Lucius rolled his eyes. "It's ash. You're wearing robes anyway; odds are it didn't even touch you. It certainly wouldn't kill you if it did."

Macnair snorted. "No, but Isabelle might if you ain't careful, mate."

"My wife is not a murderer," he protested, quickly jumping to the defense of the rather beautiful woman he had married. It sparred a debate quickly enough, the rest of the men jumping in with a laugh.

"Must we argue about this every time she gets a new husband?" Lucius interrupted, raising his brows. "Okay. We all know she's a Black Widow. And, pity to you Mr. Zabini, they all come from a rich line and none of them last long. So, once again pity to you, Mr. Zabini, we will be having this same debate next year when some new blundering idiot is blind sided by her looks and taken in by her charms and becomes the next in line for murder. It's always the same conversation. Is there nothing else in the world to talk about? Perhaps something interesting?"

The other six in the circle stared at him for a moment, though the Zabini fool looked rather smug that the conversation had been put to end. Then the subject was changed. And, only to further annoy the Malfoy, it had to be about their extra curricular activities. It was bad enough he had to participate in it and go through it once. He didn't need to be reliving the other night when they'd raided the home of some ministry member and done away with all six members of the family, husband, wife, and four children. Not even the blasted dog made it out. But at least this was a conversation he could tune out.

Instead, he had glanced back towards Narcissa, still very intent on puzzling her out, only to find she'd gone. But where? After a look around the immediate area, he still didn't spot her, so looked back at the group with a frown. How was he supposed to figure her out if she wasn't there to be studied? The woman with the baby seemed to notice his glances and frown and pointed off in a direction. He nodded and looked off in that direction. It took a moment thought before he grabbed his fire whiskey and got up, heading off in said direction. This picnic was no fun; perhaps they'd head home. There were more entertaining things he could think of to do. Even if he had to talk first and figure out what the issue she was having was about, they'd eventually get to it. It was probably just PMS, his mother had it often enough, though to be fair, his mother was also drunk quite a bit of the time.

There she was, he caught a vague glimpse of her just passed a tree. Well, the sooner the better. He dropped his cigarette and put it out with a boot, remembering well that Narcissa detested that little habit of his, and headed down before coming to a stop just by the tree, obviously not seen. Who the hell was that?

Narcissa had engaged in conversation with some dark haired man. He vaguely knew him by sight, obviously a friend of the Parkinsons to be stuck at their picnic as well, but not well known enough to be in Lucius's circle of people. But it was becoming fairly obvious that his wife knew him and the interactions made him frown so far. Lucius couldn't hear them, the breeze carrying their voices away from him. But the body language coming off of this man didn't sit well with Lucius. She turned to leave only to have the man grab her arm and pull her back. More talking and, just as he was about to go interfere, there was a kiss that froze him in his spot.

It took Lucius a few minutes to recover before he shook his head, brows raised, debating just what he would do. He could go down there and rip the man apart, and then find out what hell was wife was thinking, as jealousy dictated he should. Or he could just leave them be and accept that this wasn't a real marriage, he hadn't planned it to be in the first place, and he could find himself someone to keep him busy as she had. Yeah, that would do for now. And when it was time for them to have children, there were ways to make sure they had a boy, and then they could be out of each other's lives forever.

He turned and headed back up to the picnic, glancing over at the men he had been sitting with before heading over to the women, specifically the one with the baby. The child was screaming now, obviously unhappy about something. He cocked an eyebrow at the child before looking back at the woman after clearing his throat and apologizing for interrupting. He explained quietly that he wasn't feeling well and would be leaving, if she could tell his wife for him since he was unable to find her.

* * *

The picnic had been dull. She'd been stuck sitting with gossiping hens, going over incredibly boring things that really had nothing to do with her. And then she'd been made to hold the baby. She took the thing, looking at his face with a frown. His nose was running and there was drool on his cheek. Did people actually find these things cute? And then he smiled. Oh, well, that wasn't too bad, she could kinda see how people liked them. Until he spit up all over her lap. Ew. She rose a lip in utter disgust, looking down at her expensive dress. She looked away, shaking her head before noticing that her husband was staring at her. She made it very clear that she was never going to have one of these. Or they would be having a permanent nanny. Yes, spells and charms could very easily clean and repair the ruined clothes. But why waste the time doing so when you could easily avoid it by not having one?

Once she was relieved of the baby, she got up and excused herself, needing some fresh air away from the cackling witches and some time to think without being under Lucius' scrutinizing stare. She had been debating, ever since her talk with her sister, if she ought to talk to Lucius about it. Maybe not. She knew he had a temper, but just how far his temper would go was one thing she didn't want to find out. Guilt had ridden its course already and, after seeing Bellatrix, Narcissa had seen fit to end it with Xavier D'Fae. And she hadn't been expecting to see him at the picnic when she had gone for fresh air.

"No. No, you're not here, we're not going to talk," Narcissa said with a shake of her head, turning to leave only to have him grab her arm and turn her back towards him.

"But I am here and we are going to talk," Xavier said with a shake of his head, not releasing her arm, but moving down to take the hand to hold her in her spot. "Why are you doing this? He doesn't know; we're good together. We always have been."

"I'm ending it because I simply don't wish to continue it," she said with a shake of her head. "It would be very wise of you to just listen to me. This is going nowhere. You ought to go find someone you can settle down with and have a family."

She barely had the opportunity to finish her statement when he was pushing a kiss on to her. It took a few seconds before Narcissa regained some sense and pushed Xavier off with a glare, and then turned to storm off back up the path she'd come down here on.

Once she'd returned to the little circle she'd been sitting in, she sat and crossed her legs, automatically looking for Lucius, who wasn't there. She frowned and looked over at the woman with the baby, who was trying to get her attention. Narcissa leaned over so the woman could quietly pass on the message that her husband had left. Once finished, Narcissa sat back with a sigh before getting up to leave as well, a bad feeling about this sitting in the pit of her stomach.


	9. Chapter 9: Getting Philosophical

_**Disclaimer: **__We all know that I don't own the Malfoys, the Blacks, or anyone else from Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfics, would I? I just get to hold their leashes._

_**A/N: **__Er… yeah. Make me feel better about that huge gap and review for me. =)_

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**Chapter Nine:**  
Getting Philosophical

They hadn't actually talked about it, but the silence of the manor seemed to speak enough of the decline of whatever sort of relationship they'd been starting to form. Narcissa had been withdrawn, constantly brooding over one thing or another and Lucius had made a point of working a lot more than he needed to in order to further raise his status in the political world. He'd taken this from a rather unattached point of view after he'd gotten over the initial anger. Narcissa was his wife in only name and public eye. He couldn't think of one thing they did together that said anything other than that. They were tolerable of each other, got on well enough. The fights they had were rare and in between. They slept on opposite sides of the bed and really only appeared as a couple. There was nothing between them staking any sort of claim on the other and he refused point blank to admit to any sort of fondness for the girl.

But still, he did not enjoy waking up at five in the morning due to a chill in the air and find his wife missing from her side of the bed and the balcony doors open. He groaned slightly, closing his eyes for a moment before pushing himself out of bed. He grabbed a shirt and pulled on a heavier cloak due to the pouring rain brought on by the sudden thunder storm, tucked his wand in a pocket and headed out there. Why he was checking on her was beyond him. She very clearly didn't need his concern. And yet that didn't stop him from giving her a concerned frown when he'd spotted her quickly enough, in only the satin nightgown she'd gone to bed in and just sitting on the bench she insisted needed to be out there. He paused a moment to cast a charm on himself to prevent him from getting soaked before walking over and sitting down next to her.

"You know, this probably isn't very good for you. Sitting out here, in the middle of a thunder storm, in nothing but _that_ and getting soaked to the bone," he commented, looking in the same direction she was. "I'd really prefer it if you weren't attempting to catch pneumonia every chance you got."

She rolled her eyes lightly. "I'm not going to get sick, I haven't had a cold since I was 13. And even if, by some chance, I do, there are potions out there that fix that sort of thing in no time. What are you doing out here?"

Right. Potions. Potions and charms could fix everything in her world. They should be able to fix everything in his world as well, but as he'd found, things weren't that easy. He shook his head. "I'm sitting here, wondering why my wife is sitting outside in the pouring rain at five in the morning when the bed is much more comfortable and, incidentally, much warmer. And what, exactly, it is with her fascination of bad weather."

She looked over at him, distracted from what she'd been staring at, eyebrows raised. "You consider this to be bad weather?"

"I consider storms and snow to be bad weather, yes," he said with a nod, looking back at her. "And I consider sunny days to be nice weather. Most people do."

"Most people have a very limited view on life then. We need water to survive, do we not? Where do you think that water comes from?" she asked skeptically.

"I never said that this weather wasn't necessary. Just… not something sane people find themselves willingly in," he pointed out, pausing a moment. "Now, what are you doing out here, Narcissa?"

She shrugged and went back to staring at nothing in particular as thunder rolled by overhead. "Admiring the storm."

He cocked an eyebrow at her and looked up at the sky before out over the grounds, and then back at her as if he'd never heard something that made less sense. "What about this is admirable?"

"Everything about it is," she said quietly, shrugging. "How just a few days ago it was sunny and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. This all just came on with no warning or indication. Purely unpredictable. A man can say that tomorrow will be sunny, but he can say as much as he wants about what he things the weather should be, doesn't change the fact that it'll decide on its own."

"Unpredictability could be considered a bad thing, though," he pointed out. "If you can't predict a person, makes them hard to trust. Makes them dangerous. An unpredictable person could just up and kill you one day and you'd never see it coming."

"No, but at least they have a mind of their own. They don't let people push them around and only do as they're told," she pointed out, just a little moodily. "I'm actually rather envious of such people."

He cocked an eyebrow. An unpredictable wife would be bad. Narcissa was, to a certain extent, predictable enough. Lucius could guess what she'd do when it was important enough. Then again, if she had been unpredictable from the start, she'd have done the same Andromeda had. And that would have been unacceptable. "Why would you be envious of such people? They have a tendency to not only ruin their lives, but the lives of people around them. They either hurt themselves or someone else. And they're completely unattractive. But if, to you, they are so envious, then go half way. Be somewhat spontaneous and yet at the same time, be the person you've always been. There really is nothing wrong with being reliable."

"Because those people have fun," she said with a sigh. They did have fun. Bella had a whole lot of fun, although Narcissa hadn't seen her in ages.

"And what is fun?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her curiously.

"Fun is… being able to breathe," she answered simply, looking back at him.

"Then… breathe, Narcissa," he replied just as simply before reaching through his pockets and pulling out his wand to refresh his charm as he'd noted that his clothes was beginning to actually get wet.

She looked down at her hands for a moment, biting her lip. Just breathe? Nothing was ever so simple. Everything came with consequence, she knew that. The world was full of punishments for any action taken. But still. The silence that had previously drawn out between the two of them drove her mad. So, she sighed, steeling herself. He'd be angry, that was unavoidable. She'd deal with it. She looked away from him, though; back in the direction she'd been staring at most of the morning. "I had an affair."

The answer had not been one he'd expected, but he still managed to keep his mask in place. It wasn't a surprise, but that she came forward with it was. He shrugged slightly. "I know."

"You… know?" she repeated, head whipping to look at him, confused frown in place. Where was the anger she'd expected? He nodded once in response, seeming to be contemplating the weather again. "And… you're not… angry?"

"Angry?" he repeated, brows raised as he thought about it a moment, then he shook his head. "No, I wouldn't say I'm angry. I believe we've already discussed why I married you. The whole, out to make your father miserable thing. And just because I've decided that it, in reality, bored me and that we should really live in peace with each other, doesn't mean anything in particular. For me to be angry, I'd need to be jealous and for me to be jealous, it would require that I think of you as more than… I suppose the proper word right now would be a roommate. Considering that I am not… fond of you, in that way, that there are no feelings of that sort, I'd… say I don't care, really."

She took it all in, rather shocked. She'd stopped the affair because she'd felt guilty, confessed because she thought he was feeling something. But then again, when she recalled back, she could not ever remember him every saying such thing. She'd gotten the feeling he had feelings when they'd gone to dinner, but that was it. "You don't care at all? Not one tiny bit?"

Well. It wasn't that he didn't care. It was that he was far too embarrassed to admit that he cared. Who would want to admit any sort of feelings to such a woman at the moment? "Well. I care that it's not public, no one else knows. That's helpful. I do care that, when the time comes, I can be certain that my heir is actually mine, not some bastard. Other than that, don't catch any diseases or get yourself killed, and I don't care what you do. Provided, of course, that you don't care what I do either."

She eyed him for a moment. She could do what she wanted, provided he could do what he wanted. But what did she want to do? And did she want him sleeping around? Only pain of death would get her to admit to jealousy at the thought of that. But the child that they were supposed to eventually have. Of course he'd like to be sure it was his. "And when will the time come for this child? And what if it doesn't turn out to be your heir, but rather a girl?"

"Probably soon, I think. I mean, we are in a war. While it's not exactly ideal, I'd rather like to make sure that there's one at least on the way, lest I get killed or caught and locked away in Azkaban till the Dark Lord wins," he said with a shrug. He merely looked amused at the suggestion that it could possibly be a girl rather than a boy and got up from his seat, deciding that enough was enough with the rain and heading in.

Narcissa sat there a moment longer, frowning after him, before getting up herself, curiosity piquing too much for her to leave it be. "When is soon? You're really terrible at answering questions, Lucius. Be a little more specific. I mean, it is my body that will be doing most of the work here. And I have contraceptive potions that need to be stopped, as do you. And there's a lot of planning to do, there's a lot involved in having a kid."

He glanced back at her as she closed the balcony doors, taking off his cloak and heading for the closet to get dressed for the day, coming back out in pants and shirt, over robe in hand and summoning the elf to demand breakfast. When was soon? He hadn't really thought about that. "I don't know. Soon? Now? There really can't be that much planning and either way, I'm sure there are paid professionals out there that can handle it should one of us become incapacitated. Besides, a kid can't be that hard. I'm fairly positive in your abilities to handle it. And the sooner we get working on it, the better."

"Now? As in, start trying for one right now?" she asked, frowning a bit more. "That's a little sudden, don't you think?"

"We've been married for almost a year. I don't think it's sudden at all," he said with a shrug as he sat down to pull on his shoes. "Besides. We're still young. And the younger you start, the better, right? I mean, it's easier for your body to handle it now then it would be in, say, ten years or something."

Narcissa blinked a moment, standing in place on the plush carpet, still dripping from sitting outside. Yes, the younger you started, the better. And yes, it would be much easier for her to have one now rather than in ten years. But that didn't change the fact that she had no clue what to do with a kid. The only children she'd been around growing up had been Sirius and Regulus and they barely even counted. "Lucius, I don't know what to do with a baby. I don't even know what to do with a cat!"

"Well… we're not getting a cat so that's something you don't have to worry about," he said with a slight frown, shaking his head as the elf delivered the breakfast he'd ordered and grabbed one of the bagels. "However, a child is inevitable and the sooner we do this, the better. We'll hire a nanny."

She rolled her eyes. The cat was just an example. They were, after all, supposed to be easy to take care of. "A nanny doesn't solve everything."

"Why not?" he asked, giving her a blank look. "The nanny solved everything for my parents. I think I had a wonderful growing up."

"There are things that a child needs from its parents that a nanny can't provide," Narcissa raised her brows before heading for the bathroom to grab a towel and dry off. Well, that explained quite a bit about her husband.

"Well, then perhaps you should figure out how to take care of a kid, then," he called after her. "This really isn't a debate. We need a child. And you'll have from now, until the time we actually manage to conceive it, then nine months until it's born."

"I know this isn't a debate of whether or not we will have a child, but it is a debate of when we will have a child," she said, coming back out as she wiped down her arms and fluffed up her hair. "It's also a debate as to whether or not we're fit parents. Whether or not I'm fit to be a mother."

He eyed her for a moment, catching the problem. So he sighed. "I'm sure you'll do fine. There are classes, a nanny will help a great deal, and we'll figure it out as it goes. I mean, if a couple of sex-crazed hormonal teenagers can do it when they weren't even trying, don't you think that married adults can figure it out between now and the actual birth?"

She returned the look, standing in her spot while she thought about it. "And if I… if I agree to this… what's going to happen after its born?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, small frown in place. "After he's born and it's assured he's mine, you can move in to your own room in the manor and we can lead two separate lives. You can do whatever it is you want to do so long as you keep quiet about it and don't embarrass the name."

She stayed put for a moment longer, thinking. It would be easier. Admittedly, there would be a child to think of, but that wouldn't be too much to deal with if there was a nanny to do a lot of the helping. And at the moment, the less she had to deal with Lucius, the better. So, rather than saying anything, she headed into the closet and changed out of the wet nightgown and into robes for the day. She came back dressed and sat next to him on the bed to begin buckling the straps of her heels.

Lucius looked at her, rather confused. "Where are you going? We are having a discussion here."

She glanced over at him. "I am going to the doctor. I haven't got an appointment, but I'm sure they'll take a walk in. Make sure I'm completely healthy and able to carry a baby. Maybe see about fertility potions if necessary. Set up a schedule around the best times to be trying."

He stared at her for a moment. She was agreeing? They were trying? "Just like that? No more disagreements on it?"

"Just like that," she agreed with a nod. "No more disagreements on it."

Lucius thought about it for a moment. It wasn't quite like her to just give in to something he said. But to save him from further arguments, he stood up with a shrug. "Alright then. I've got things to do today. Don't wait up for me."

* * *

He'd come home rather late. Despite the earlier advice, Narcissa was up in bed reading. Either she was waiting for him or that book was the most interesting thing in the world. Especially since, when he'd walked in ten minutes ago, she hadn't turned a page and her eyes didn't seem to be moving over the words. Instead, it looked more like she was itching for another talk. Either to ask what he did today or to relay what the doctor said. Considering that what he'd been doing today were things that he didn't ever want her involved in like her sister was, he would rather her be more interested in letting her inform him of what the doctor said. But he'd let her bring it up. In the mean time, he dressed down to his silk pajama bottoms and had sat down on his side of the bed after giving the elf an order for a late night dinner.

Halfway through his meal, Narcissa seemed to get the idea that he didn't plan to talk to her until she said something. She closed her book and looked over at him with her brows raised. "In case you were wondering, I'm fine and perfectly able to have a baby."

"Well, I wasn't really wondering. I figured you would be healthy. I mean, you're so picky with your diet and your figure, there couldn't have been anything wrong with you. Besides, if something had been wrong with you, you'd look substantially more upset and you'd have already said something," he said with an unconcerned shrug, pushing the tray away as he decided he was finished and getting up to head for the bathroom. "I assume that also means you have a schedule in store?"

"I do," she called after him, reaching over to steal something off of the tray before summoning an elf to take it. "Tomorrow night, ovulation starts. And then I peak the night after, there's one more night after that when the peak comes down."

He stepped out of the bathroom to show that he was brushing his teeth and couldn't reply just yet before stepping back in. Starting tomorrow night. That was rather early, wasn't it? He spit out the toothpaste and stood there for a moment, looking at the contraceptive potion he took every night, and thinking. If today had any sort of effect on him, it was this. Now wasn't the ideal time for children, despite his earlier argument. Wilkes had taken a hard curse today on their 'quiet' raid, leaving the question on everyone's mind as to whether or not he'd survive it. If he didn't, he left behind a two-year-old and a pregnant wife. When they'd brought him back to his house, Lucius had been left with the kid while Macnair and another explained to Mrs. Wilkes why her husband needed her to take him to Mungo's now. Mungo's would save him, yes. But he'd also be caught and he wouldn't be returning home anyway. It was a choice between two evils that none of them would make. But the question on Lucius's mind is what that boy who was playing quietly with a toy train while his mother dealt with the visitors would do. What kind of life was it to grow up without one's father? Alright, no, his father hadn't been very hands-on, but at least the man had been there to answer any questions or deal with any of his issues. And even if Lucius had no idea what to do with a child, he was fairly positive he'd find it difficult, if not impossible, to leave the child behind, either to die in battle or to spend a lifetime behind bars. No. Now was definitely not the ideal time for a child. But to tell Narcissa that wasn't the best idea. At least with her under the impression that they were trying, he could be certain of where she was and where she wasn't. As long as she wasn't in bed with someone else, he'd make do.

"Fantastic," he called from the bathroom before downing his potion. "We'll get started tomorrow, then."


	10. Chapter 10: Not The Best Time

_**A/N: **__*inserts shameless advertising* If you like this fic, go read my other WIP: How To Become A Malfoy. Oh, and uh… Review here too, of course. Reviews make me want to update faster. =D_

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**Chapter Ten:**  
Perhaps Now's Not The Best Time

After the first five months without successfully conceiving a child, Narcissa was unsettled. It wasn't happening. Was something wrong with her? She went back to the healers at St. Mungo's who had previously declared her perfectly healthy and able to carry a baby. After accusing them of being wrong, insisting something had to be wrong with her, they had supplied her with fertility potions and sent her on her way.

Four months after that and still with no success, she was about ready to pull her hair out. Not so much over the fact that they hadn't managed to have a baby yet, but because she knew what it meant if they didn't: Lucius wouldn't need her. He'd undoubtedly leave, get a divorce and site irreconcilable differences. He needed children that she couldn't provide. No one would blame him. It wouldn't be as humiliating as it would be if they had broken apart because of the affair she'd had. She went back to St. Mungo's and got something stronger, along with a few other potions to make a cocktail.

By the thirteenth month of trying for a baby, of being solely with one another whilst they made the attempt, they had become rather happy with their lives. No, there was still no baby. But things between them had never been better. Lucius seemed genuinely happy, managing to constantly come up with excuses for why they weren't having a baby any time soon, reassuring her that it would happen soon enough. He wasn't terribly worried; of course he wasn't. He knew the problem. Not that he was willing to share.

When she had started throwing up, being pregnant wasn't the first thing to jump to her mind. The first thing had been that it was a stomach bug. It would go away. A week later when it hadn't, she thought that perhaps it was food poisoning. But didn't food poisoning come with horrid stomach pains? It wasn't until she finally noticed a week later that something else was missing. It took a few days to build the courage before she finally took the test one morning, before Lucius woke up. Positive. She nearly fainted on to the toilet with the relief this came with. After a few more minutes, she was giggling a bit before calming again. Once she was sure that she didn't still look hysterical, she headed out of the bathroom and summoned an elf to order breakfast before catching sight of a sleepy, confused looking Lucius, looking at the empty side of the bed before looking around and frowning at her slightly.

"Come back to bed," he groaned slightly, holding out a hand.

She grinned and headed over, stopping just short of the bed so he could wrap said hand behind her knee. "Are you up for the day or are you up just to tell me to come back to bed?"

"Just to tell you to come back to bed," he yawned, sliding his hand up before reaching out his other hand to tug her back down in to bed beside him.

"And are you telling me to come back to bed because you would like to sleep next to me a little longer or because you would like to sleep with me?" she asked as she settled in up against him, pressing kisses in to his jaw.

"Well, I wanted to actually sleep, but the other one sounds fun too," he decided, rolling over on to her so he could actually kiss her.

"Mm. That's what I thought," she said with a nod, grinning lightly. "I ordered breakfast already. And I was rather hoping we could talk first. And then see about other activities."

Talk? He frowned at that. "Talking never turns out very good for me. Do we have to talk? Can we not and say we did, then see about other activities and breakfast?"

"No. We need to talk," she said a bit more sternly, still smiling at him as he pulled a face and rolled off her with a pout to sit up. She moved over to sit on his lap. "Don't be like that. It's a good talk."

"Is there such a thing?" he asked, brows raised as his arms went around her loosely.

"There is," she said, distracted for a brief second as breakfast was brought in and put at the foot of the bed. "I was sick again this morning."

"How is that good?" he asked, a bit confused as he leaned around her to grab a strawberry off the tray. "Perhaps you should consider seeing a doctor?"

"It's a good sick," she reassured him, smile growing a bit bigger by the second. "And I won't be sick for long. And then when the sick goes away, we'll be so happy with what we have."

His frown deepened and he pulled back away from her for a second, eyeing her form. She wasn't… was she? "You're not turning bulimic, are you?"

"What? No! I'm not!" she snapped, smacking his arm and looking down at herself critically. Was that an indication that she should lose weight? But she couldn't, not right now. Getting pregnant was not a good time to decide to go on a diet.

"Good," he said quickly, wrapping arms back around her. "If it helps any, I think you look fantastic the way you are. You really don't need to lose any weight. I'm not a fan of sticks. They lack curves."

She glared at him slightly one more time before shifting. "Like I was saying, it's a good sick. And we'll be happy when it's over. And while being sick won't last long, the results of it will last the rest of our lives."

He gave her a funny look. It was a good sick, they'd be happy when it was over – well, who wouldn't be happy to stop throwing up? – and the results of this sick would last the rest of their lives? He shook his head. "Darling, it's too early for riddles. Stop being mean to me."

She stared at him blankly. Really, she thought he would have gotten it then. "We've been working on it for the past… year or so?"

He glanced around the room for a second before giving her another frown. "Our relationship?"

"It's for the looks, right? And the money? That's why I'm still here? Surely it's not the intelligent conversation," she asked herself, earning a sharp poke to her side. "Let's just hope the baby gets my brains."

"I told you, it's too early. If you want me to know what you're talking about, just tell me already," he said, a bit grumpily. Too early for riddles and now she was picking on him. Wait, what? Hope the baby gets her brains? He stared at her. "Wait, what?"

"Lucius," she said with a bright grin now. "I'm pregnant. After about a year of trying, I am finally pregnant. We're going to have a baby."

He stared at her. Pregnant. They were going to have a baby. But… that wasn't possible. He shook his head, moving slightly to get her off his lap. "How are you pregnant, Narcissa?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. Yes, it was early. But really? "Well, it's basic biology, Lucius. You see, when a girl and a boy get together and-"

"I know basic biology," he snapped, interrupting her as she seemed about to explain the birds and the bees to him. When would she have had the time, though? "What I want to know is who is the boy?"

Alright, now that confused her. She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head slightly. Who is the boy? "Wow. Way to make me feel remembered. Was that a dig on my skills that you can't remember a single time we've been together over the past year?"

"It's not mine, Narcissa, and don't treat me like an idiot," he snapped. "I have been taking a contraceptive potion this entire year. There is no way that it's mine. So now the question remains: who have you been screwing with?"

"You've been what, Lucius? You are…" Things were calculating slowly. He'd been… what? She stared at him before getting off the bed. She paused a moment to take a deep breath. Didn't help. "You have been making me thing there was something wrong with me that I can't have kids for a year? And constantly reassuring me that it'll happen when it happens while knowing why it wasn't and that it wouldn't! What the bloody hell is wrong with you?!"

"There is nothing wrong with me!" he snapped back, getting out of bed as well. Why let her have the advantage of height when it was rightfully his? When he was the one who had the right to be furious? "Now is merely not a good time for a brat! I'd rather have my child when I'm sure I'm not going to die in battle or be caught. And I wanted to have it with you, but clearly you had other plans. I'd rather the mother of my child be loyal to me."

"You're a real piece of work, Malfoy. You really are," she snapped as she headed for her dressing gown. She couldn't be in here, not with him. Not when she so wanted to throttle him. First lie to her, insist he wanted a child now. And then accuse her of cheating on him? She had only done that once before and it was well over.

"I may be, but I'm nothing compared to you, darling," he sneered before summoning a house elf. The order was simple. "Pack Mrs. Malfoy's bags. She'll be staying in the town house until I decide what to do with her."

Narcissa froze. He wasn't… he was not – was _not _– kicking her out. He couldn't be. She'd misheard him. "You cannot be serious. You are not kicking me out."

Lucius laughed slightly, a rather hallow, unnerving laugh. "Oh, I am. You're not staying here; you most certainly are not staying with me. As soon as that thing is born, we'll legally establish it's not mine and the divorce proceedings will be quick enough. I'm not raising someone else's bastard."

* * *

"Can I help you?" she asked stiffly, eyebrows raised. It had taken a few weeks to become accustomed to the town house and she hated it. What right did Lucius have to do this to her? Where did he get the right to make her have feelings for him, and then banish her at the first opportune moment? And what the hell made him think he could visit? She crossed her arms over her chest in the foyer, making entirely sure he understood how not amused she was.

"Nope," he replied nonchalantly as he brushed passed her, tossing his cloak on the side and heading for the dinning room.

Her arms dropped and she looked after him. It took her a moment to regain enough sense and follow after him. "What are you doing here, Lucius?"

"Having lunch with my wife in my town house," he said with a shrug before giving the elf the order.

"No. No, you're not," she said with a shake of her head, incredibly confused. "What makes you think that you can just waltz in here and have lunch with me?"

"Well. This is _my _town house. I could easily evict you from here as well and have lunch by myself in my town house," he offered, brows raised as he took his seat, leaning back and folding his hands in his lap. "Have a seat."

He would, wouldn't he? Her expression was rather pinched, but she slowly sat down as well, straight backed and uncomfortable. The silence stretched on, awkward for her and comfortable for him. The elf brought the lunch in and left. When she couldn't stand it anymore, she shook her head. "Okay, I give. Why are you insisting on having lunch with me?"

He remained silent for a few minutes, rearranging his silver wares. Just when she was about to as her question again, he shrugged. "You're still my wife. And I have a proposition."

"A proposition?" she echoed, brows raised. Whatever he had to propose, she doubted she had much interest in.

"Yes. A proposition," he repeated, nodding lightly. "See, I feel like we could get along better. We were, after all, getting along spectacularly until this little, uh. Bump here. And I am rather fond of you now. So, rather than letting this get in the way, I've deciding to give it a chance. No one knows you're pregnant yet; it hasn't even hit the gossip section. Just… admit what you've been doing. Admit this isn't mine. And we'll go to South Africa. We can terminate the pregnancy away from the prying eyes of loving friends and family. And when we return, no one will be the wiser. Admittedly, I'll be keeping a much closer eye on you, but I figure we can live with that while we figure out how to make this work."

She stared at him. She shook her head. "Lucius, I was not having an affair. The child is yours. I don't know how else to say this to get you to comprehend it. It's. Yours. And I am certainly not going to terminate the pregnancy."

"No, Narcissa, it can't be mine. It couldn't possibly be," he said with a shake of his head, determined to remain calm.

"Have you ever thought that perhaps you had a bad batch of potion? Perhaps you forgot to take it? Or that maybe, finally the cocktail of fertility potions I was on was just a bit stronger than yours?" she asked.

"Not possible. Just admit it. You've admitted to it once before and yes, it's a bit more complicated now, but there's no reason as to why you can't admit to it again when I'm obviously not going to punish you for it," he pressed, not quite willing to give in.

Narcissa made an 'oh' expression as it all began to dawn on her. She licked her lips before shaking her head. "That's what this is about? I admitted to it once before because there was something to admit to. And… I cheated on you because at that point in our marriage, we weren't exactly happy, were we? We were happy this time, though. Why would I cheat on you now?"

"I don't know why you would cheat on me now, that's really only a question that you can answer," he said, sitting up a bit straighter to begin eating lunch as if their discussion was nothing more unnatural that discussing the weather. "The sooner you admit to it, the sooner we can get this taken care of and you can move back in to the manor."

"I am not going to admit to something I didn't do. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can get over this and I can find it somewhere in me to forgive you for kicking out your pregnant wife while moving back in to the manor," she said plainly, not touching her salad.

"This isn't a negotiation, Narcissa," he said with a frown. "I've given you your options. You can either comply with today's compromise or we can continue on the path we've already laid ahead of ourselves with a divorce being in the future."

She stared at him for a minute before reaching her decision. He'd be biting his own words in eight months time anyway. "Get out."

He sighed and got up from his seat. "Fine. Have it your way."

* * *

She wasn't used to being alone. She had certainly never lived alone as she had gone straight from her parents' home to Malfoy manor. It had been two weeks since Lucius's visit and ultimatum, two weeks with no company other than the elf attached to the town house to clean and cook for her. It was enough to drive her mad. When she couldn't stand the silence of being in the town house alone any longer, she got dressed and headed out. But to where? None of her friends seemed like a good idea, considering they weren't exactly those types of friends. There was a very big difference between sitting around a table with cups of tea, gossiping as women did, and going to one of their homes for comfort.

She wasn't sure when, exactly, she had decided where she was going. She didn't recall deciding at all, almost as if her disapparation had merely carried her there on it's own. It wasn't a good idea. She knew that very well. But hormonal pregnant women who were rather distressed over their situation could hardly be counted upon to make a sensible decision.

After standing out on the sidewalk for about ten minutes, debating her decision and staring at the mansion, she pushed open the gate and headed up the walk slowly. Once she'd reached the door, she rang the bell. This wasn't right. Not at all. Right when she decided to leave though, the door opened.

"Narcissa?" Xavier asked, brows raised, rather surprised. The surprise left quickly enough to be replaced with a grin as he leaned lazily against the doorframe as he regarded her. "Pleasure to see you. Coming in?"


	11. Chapter 11: Baiting A Dragon

_**a/n: **I completely fail at fighting and the end of this chapter is so not what I wanted it to be. But unfortunately, you'll just have to deal with that since I seem to lack the creativity to properly work out the fight. Enjoy it anyway._

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* * *

  
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**Chapter Eleven:**  
Baiting A Dragon

"You shouldn't have booted 'er, mate," Rodolphus said over his glass of firewhiskey. He was sitting in a smoke and drink filled gentleman's club with Lucius, glancing distractedly at a skirt sitting up at the bar with his brother.

"For one, I'm not your mate, mate. Our unfortunate acquaintance stems from having to work civilly with one another. Two, my home life is absolutely none of your concern," Lucius responded, following the other man's line of sight and rolled his eyes, rather disgustedly. "Merlin, Rodolphus. She's obviously going home with your brother. Beside that, you're married. Have some dignity, would you?"

"You're such a stick up the arse, Malfoy, I'm sure someone's told you that by now. There ain't nothing wrong with innocent lookin'," Rodolphus said, draining his glass and returning to the problem on hand. "We may not be friends, no. But you married my wife's sister. Unfortunately, that means Narcissa has vented everything out on my wife, who in turn vents it out on me for representing the obviously terrible male specie. So the sooner I get you to stop being a prick bastard, the sooner baby Black stops unloading on Bella, the sooner I get to sleep with both eyes closed."

"I see. How noble of you," Lucius sneered, snubbing out his cigarette.

"Shut your smart ass mouth and listen to me," the other man snapped, leaning forward on his elbows. "Get off your bloody high horse. You kicked out your pregnant wife. Do you have any idea what that says about you?"

"Why do I get the bad end of the stick?" Lucius returned, getting over his initial refusal to speak with a man he considered to be more barbarian than English man. He needed venting himself. "She has an affair. She gets pregnant during said affair. And I'm the asshole for booting her out because I don't want her illegitimate bastard tarnishing my manor!"

Rodolphus thought for a moment, lips quirked to the side as he considered his empty cup. "You know, I see your point of view, I really do. But lemme ask you something: are you happy with her out?"

This made Lucius look down at his own cup in thought. He certainly wasn't happy. He was honestly surprised to find how big of a sore spot she had left. He missed accidentally-on-purpose waking her when he came in late from his death eating meetings and fights. He missed breakfast and dinner with her. Being so completely alone wasn't something he had ever done before, it wasn't something he could easily adjust to.

He didn't need to answer. Rodolphus got another refill on his drink and proceeded to the next question. "You can't honestly tell me you aren't attracted to her. Both of the sisters are drop dead, but you have to admit the innocence that Narcissa seems to radiate makes you want to completely ruin every aspect of her."

At that, Lucius glared. No one should be looking at his wife like that other than himself, much less talk about her with that predatory gleam in their eyes. "This is still my wife we're talking about, Lestrange. Don't forget that."

"I think that'll answer any questions on feelings that you seem to lack the ability to show," he stated, holding up his hands in surrender, smirking vaguely before waving down a server for a refill on his drink. "You know, we weren't all that different. We used to be friends, remember? What happened to you?"

Lucius considered him a moment. "We got married. I grew up. You didn't. That simple."

Rodolphus considered it as well. That didn't seem to be the right answer in his mind. Way he saw it, Lucius had turned into the politician who didn't want to dirty his hands and Rodolphus wasn't willing to do the dirty work for him anymore. But he wasn't interested in the fight. He slammed down his second drink and put the glass down, standing up. "Well. We've talked. You've got stuff to think about. See you around, mate."

Lucius was quiet for a while after he left, slowly swirling his own glass of firewhiskey, staring blankly at a burn spot on the table.

* * *

"_Pleasure to see you. Coming in?"_

She hesitated a moment on the threshold, biting her lip lightly, before nodding. Really, right now, she thought that perhaps she should have just gone to Bella's. No, Bellatrix had never dealt with anything like what Narcissa was dealing with now. And all right, maybe she was anti-baby and would probably insist on talking Narcissa in to terminating it. But surely it was a safer option than going to an old flame? After all, what if he had a girlfriend by now? He probably did. Not that she was here for that. She frowned at the odd look he gave her as she pushed passed him and headed for the sitting room.

Xavier closed the door behind him and followed after her, eyebrow cocked curiously at her as she flopped down gracefully on the couch, crossing her legs. Something was different about her. He cleared his throat and poured himself a glass of fire whiskey before turning to her and offering her the cup. "Drink?"

Narcissa paused a second before shaking her head. "No thanks, I'm good."

He gave her another curious look, taking her in before shrugging and taking a sip of his own drink and sitting in the armchair across from her, head cocked to the side slightly and making her shift uncomfortably.

"So how far along are you?" he questioned at the same moment Narcissa asked, "What are you staring at?"

She frowned, shaking her head slightly. "Wait, what?"

"How far along are you?" he repeated, taking her blank stare and rolling his eyes. "Come on, Cissa. I am a Healer, you know? Your breasts are swollen, you're wearing flats, you're breaking out, and you don't want a drink. If you're not pregnant, I'm King of Antarctica. Considering I've never been, not a big fan of the cold, I'd go with the first."

"I am not breaking out!" she protested, hands immediately flying up to her face to feel the non-existent bumps. Xavier shook his head and gestured to the small spattering of pink and red across her collarbone and upper chest. She lowered her hand to attempted to look awkwardly at her chest before sighing. "Eleven weeks."

"Well. Congrats, right?" he nodded, tipping his cup towards her. "So, what are you doing here instead of spending your time in wonderful wedded bliss with that wonderful husband and proud father-to-be of yours?"

"That wonderful husband and proud father-to-be is also a wonderful ass," she commented dryly, clicking her fingernails distractedly as she stared towards the fireplace a moment, contemplating all manner of torture before shaking her head and rousing herself from her day dreams. "Do you happen to have any ice cream? Preferably strawberry."

He let her have her minute or so before he cocked an eyebrow at the random request. Well. Not so random, really, considering the condition of the person it was coming from. He summoned an elf to go and find said strawberry ice cream for her before reconsidering her as she shifted on the couch in to a presumably more comfortable position. "Do I want to know?"

"No, not really," she commented dismissively. "I didn't come here to talk about it, though."

"You didn't come here for a drink, you didn't come here to talk about it, I'm assuming you didn't come here thinking to resume a relationship," he counted off, frowning. "Why did you come here, Narcissa?"

There was that same question she had been asking herself when she had found herself knocking. Why did she come here? She shrugged, taking the bowl of pink ice cream from the elf as it popped back in, holding it up on a tray for her, then popped right back out once it had completed it's job. She took in a spoonful before deciding on a non-committed answer. "The wonderful service. And, clearly, the ice cream."

"The ice cream, I see," he said with a nod, frowning at her. "You know, Cissy, it's probably not my place, but, uh. Shouldn't you be having ice cream at home? I mean, I'm fairly positive Lucius might just be able to afford a gallon to two."

She was quiet for a moment as she toyed with her spoon, stirring the cream. "I'm not staying at the manor, as it were. For the time being, I'm residing in the town house. And tonight, I just didn't feel like being home alone, yet again."

"The town house?" he asked, frowning. "By your own choice or by his?"

"His," she muttered darkly, glaring at her ice cream as if it had been the one who had kicked her out, sent her to be on her own. She didn't see the way Xavier's frown deepened, nor could she possibly see the way the cogs of his mind were spinning.

"Well, that's not right, either way. It's not safe for a pregnant woman to live alone. What if something happened to you or the baby and you needed medical help immediately and are unable to seek it out yourself?" he asked, more talking to himself as he considered her. She shifted under his scrutinizing gaze. "You should stay here?"

She coughed on the ice cream she had just put into her mouth, taking a moment before blinking watery eyes at him. "Stay here? Xavier, I don't think that's a good idea, really. I was looking for a night of company, not a new home."

"I'm not offering you a new home, per se. You have twenty-nine more weeks. I'll give you until the baby is six weeks old, then you can go back to your town house," he said innocently. "I just think you're going to need a lot of help and if Lucius isn't going to do his job, then someone else ought to."

"And that someone else should not be you," she muttered, frowning at the prospect. She didn't think Lucius would much like the idea of her living with Xavier. Then she wondered why she should care what Lucius would and would not like.

"Then who?" he asked, brows raised. Narcissa hesitated a second, mouth open with an answer refusing to come to her tongue before looking up at him. She sighed, closing her mouth. It was a fairly good question. If Lucius refused to help her, then who else would? Xavier plowed on when she was silent. "Look. You know it's a good idea. Do I need to berate you with the facts? You're almost out of the first trimester. You aren't allowed to disaparate; unless, of course, you want to risk splinching the baby. I highly doubt, and no offense intended, that you'll be able to think clearly enough to get through the floo network when you go in to labor. And do you seriously want only house elves present when that happens? I know you; you'll want a whole team of healers and nurses at your side. Don't stay here for the sake of you and me, Cissy. Stay here for the safety of your baby."

He was making a lot of sense. Really, would she be able to floo when it was time to? No, she wouldn't try disaparating; that was far too dangerous for her to be willing to consider. She wasn't very fond of that mode of transportation anyway. An elf could hardly be relied upon – yes, to fix dinner and do around the house chores, but to birth a baby or summon an appropriate healer? Merlin no. And yes, he did know her. She would want all of those people there helping her. She would even want Lucius there to hold her hand and tell her it would be alright, to be the first person their baby saw upside down. But no, that was silly. Xavier was the one making all the sense right now and she sighed.

* * *

A routine trip to the doctor had seen her well enough to take herself down to Diagon Alley, in need of a nice sundae from Fortescue's on a warm August afternoon. Going out alone had taken some getting used to and, to be perfectly honest, it still wasn't something she was pleased about. She couldn't stand the thought of uprooting Xavier's home anymore than she had when she had moved in (and Merlin did he hear from his current girlfriend about it) and the fights around her at this moment in time were the last things she needed, being perfectly honest. She needed to rest, relax, to not worry about people around her. This place was perfect. It wasn't too terribly busy as last minute school shoppers weren't due for another week and a half.

She glanced down at her stomach self consciously before deciding to go with it and got a two scoop sundae, finding a table outside to people watch. Doing so in peace was always a wonderfully relaxing thing. However, her nose pinched at an imaginary bad smell while a large red headed woman, made even larger by her pregnant belly, came up to scold a wandering 2-year-old with equally red hair for disappearing and deciding to actually talk to the blonde woman he was bothering.

* * *

He had been angry with her for moving out of the townhouse he had put her in so he could think. More than angry, really, he was downright furious. This woman had all the nerve in the world and some to spare. Did she not understand how bad she was making him look? His reputation was tarnishing terribly because of her. She had completely disappeared from his radar and it was driving him mad. She wasn't at the townhouse; it had been emptied of her clothes and belongings. He had checked hotels, their friends, distant relatives. Three weeks of searching had left him ready to hex first, ask later. So when he heard what he was fairly positive was her sneering voice while on his way to Knockturn Alley, he paused with a frown and backtracked a few paces. Yes, that was his wife with her hand resting protectively on the small bump of her stomach, conversing with Molly Weasley, who happened to be congratulating her on said protected bump.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. Erm. You as well. What number is this?" she asked in false tones of happiness. The other woman clearly didn't get the disgust that was so obviously dripping in her voice.

"They're twins, actually. Four and five. More boys, of course, last thing I needed," she said with a bright smile, patting her own stomach with her freehand, the other holding the hand of a small boy who was squinting around and trying to pull away from the tight grip of his mother.

"Yes. Well, you can certainly tell," Narcissa sneered, giving the woman a once over. She probably had stretch marks galore. "Look what it's done to your hips, after all. Have you ever considered glamour charms for that?"

"Glamour charms for _what_, exactly?" Molly snapped coolly, glaring slightly at the suggestion.

She opened her mouth to respond, but her insult was cut short as a hand lay lightly on the small of her back. She started slightly and twisted, terribly surprised to find Lucius standing there. She frowned and turned back to Molly to continue with her barb when Lucius spoke instead. "Darling. Our appointment was five minutes ago. We should get moving."

She growled slightly before forcing yet another smile. "Right. Our appointment. Silly me, I must have forgotten. If you'll excuse us, Molly."

"Yes, please give your husband a lovely…eh," he shrugged off whatever departing repartee he had been about to give the large redheaded witch and nudged Narcissa on.

They left a rather indignant looking Molly behind as Narcissa allowed Lucius to steer her out of there rather than cause a scene. That was the last thing they needed, really, to cause a scene in Diagon Alley. However, once they were well out of anyone's earshot other than the occasional passer-by, Narcissa couldn't help snarling at him. "What do you want, Lucius?"

"To talk, darling. You don't owl, you don't floo; how's that supposed to make me feel? I mean, you just up and disappeared on me, how was I to know where you've been and if you're alright?" he asked, brow arched, not removing the hand from her back lest she manage to disappear yet again.

"I didn't know you cared so, considering the circumstances," she sneered, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Still harping on about that, now, are we?" he questioned with a frown.

"Harping on about…" she started, cutting herself off to glare at him and lower her voice just a tad. "Yes, I am. And I will continue 'harping on about that', Lucius Malfoy, for as long as I feel like it and if you insist on continuing to annoy me and be an ass, then you shall have to hear about it!"

"My, my, darling. Mind your temper, it's hardly becoming on a woman of your stature," he drawled, managing only barely not to roll his eyes.

It took Narcissa only a few moments to frown at their surroundings. They appeared to be headed towards the dark side alley. "Where are we going?"

"Just to take care of a quick business thing I have to do, then you and I are going to go and discuss a few things," he said cryptically, leading her on towards Borgin and Burke's. He paused outside the doors, considering something before coming to his decision and opening the door to let her in first, but then once the door had closed, looked at her with a frown and rather condescendingly added on, "Stay here. Touch nothing, I'd rather not be rushing you to Mungo's."

She sent him a glare as he turned around and headed towards the counter where a greasy looking man was coming out. What was she, five? She scoffed turning to leave the store when something caught her eye. She paused to stare into a nearby case, stepping closer and placing a light hand on the glass. The necklace was beautiful. She had never been one for opals, but something about these opals just called to her.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there observing them, but she started when a hand placed itself on the small of her back before scowling to herself for such a reaction. Lucius chuckled, though, thoroughly amused. "Those opals are cursed. I would advise against such an object, darling. However, if you decide to cooperate fully, I'm sure I could get a non-cursed replica made."

"You know, I think I'm good," she replied dryly. "And if you don't mind, I have things to do."

"You're right, you do," he informed her, steering her out of the shop. "You need to show me where you're living since you're no longer in the town house."

"I need to do so such thing, Lucius. It's none of your concern, remember?" she said coolly, taking some control of the situation and turning away from his hand to leave Knockturn Alley. She still needed to get back to the floo grates at the Leaky Cauldron.

He caught up rather quickly, which wasn't a hard thing to do, considering the circumstances. "Where in Merlin's beard did you get that you are not my concern? You are still my wife. Just because we're having a spat doesn't mean I'm not concerned."

"Why do you need to know where I'm currently staying?" she asked, deciding for a change of tactic.

"Well, if you actually are carrying my child, as you so insist you are, then don't you think I have a right to know where you're staying? My potential child's welfare at sake, I think it's fully within my rights to ask," he said simply. In his mind, it was a fair point.

"No it's not," she snorted, shaking her head. "It's not at all within your rights. If you cared so much, you wouldn't have kicked me out."

"I kicked you out due to uncertainty. Surely you can understand my point of view and how I could believe it not to be mine. You have had an affair before, I've been taking preventative measures, it is not at all out of the realm of possibility," he said sensibly.

"If you were concerned about your 'possible child', as you put it, you wouldn't have seen me out, Lucius."

"What do you expect, Narcissa? I was hurt, I've been humiliated at your hands. Do you expect a dragon not to bite if you bait it?" he said, with what he thought was just the right tone to get to her. And it was, he could see her caving as she sighed, putting a hand to her temple.

* * *

"Alright? Are you happy now? That was tour; this is where I'm staying. Thank you for your concern, you can go now," she said, glancing at the clock in the den. Xavier would be off soon, she'd rather not see the two of them fight, as she knew Lucius would probably spark some sort of argument.

He looked around with a decidedly unhappy look, seeming to be thinking about it. He shook his head. "No. This doesn't really work for me, darling. What's wrong with the town house? It's bigger. More plush. Indefinitely more appropriate for you."

"More appropriate for me in your opinion. I can't stay somewhere by myself while I'm pregnant, Lucius. What if I get sick or hurt and need help?" she asked tiredly, not in the mood for such questions.

"You have house elves, right? Send one of them for me or a doctor or whatever help you need," he explained, thinking it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You think a house elf suffices proper human contact during a period she needs it the most?" a voice cut in from behind Lucius, causing him to raise his eyebrows at Narcissa. The owner of this house was home, it would seem. The voice continued. "That's the problem with you, Malfoy. You're so critical minded that you can't see passed basic human need and believe a pregnant, emotional woman to be needing no more care than a house elf can provide."

Lucius held up a hand, as if to excuse himself for a minute from Narcissa, before turning around to face the man who was speaking and pausing in what he was about to say to him when he caught sight of him. This man was far more familiar than Lucius would have liked to admit. In fact, the last time Lucius saw this man, Xavier was kissing his wife in a bit of a secluded area at a luncheon. His train of thought changed and he glared back at Narcissa. "This is why you're here? Do you think I don't know who this is?"

"Lucius, don't. Xavier, please, just go for now," Narcissa injected as quickly as she could, stepping in between the men. Hopefully Xavier would indeed leave so she could get Lucius off. She placed hands on his shoulder, nudging him towards the fireplace.

"No, I'm not going to just go for now. This is my house, Narcissa, and I need to have a word with Lucius here about how to treat women," Xavier snapped, not exactly going down the route Narcissa obviously preferred. "For one, Malfoy, you don't dump your pregnant wife out on the streets or on another man's door."

"This is between a husband and his wife. Considering that you are neither in this situation, I'll thank you to keep out of it," Lucius returned coldly, just before something else clicked and he glared again at Narcissa. "Is that why you're here, Narcissa? You insist it's mine, yet you end up at the house of an old lover. What, you couldn't unload it off on me, so you went to the actual father in the end anyway?"

"Lucius, I've told you-" Narcissa started, exasperated, when Xavier decided instead to cut in. "Would that be such a bad thing anyway? I mean, someone's gotta take care of her. And you seem to be failing quite miserably in the aspect. Even if the kid's not mine in blood, I'll take care of it."

Lucius laughed at him. "Do you know what that makes you?"

"A better man than you," Xavier sneered at him. "Now leave my house."

"I'm afraid I'm not finished talking to my wife," Lucius returned, doing a much better job at the sneer. "Now, if you don't mind…"

"Actually, I do mind," he snapped back, this time pulling his wand and taking aim over Narcissa's shoulder. "This is my house. I'm the one looking after her right now. I'm going to have to ask you to leave, just one last time before I start cursing."

At the sight of the drawn wand, Lucius was by no means hesitant to draw his own, reaching out a hand to Narcissa's hip to try and move her out of the way. "Well, if we must, we must. Your insistence, mind you."

Knowing perfectly well the chance a doctor stood against a perfectly trained Death Eater with a wide expanse of painful curses, Narcissa refused to let Lucius move her out of the way. She instead put her hand on his to try and push his hand down. "Please stop it, the both of you. This isn't helping anyone do anything. Put the wands down. Lucius, go home, I'll talk to you about it all later."

"Yeah, Lucius. Go home. Can you not tell you aren't wanted here?" Xavier injected, keeping his wand trained on where Lucius's chest would be.

"Xavier, put your wand away," Narcissa demanded, keeping her hand on Lucius's, wary eye on Xavier's. Rather than doing as she asked, Xavier felt the need to send a warning shot over her shoulder towards Lucius's own shoulder. "Xavier!"

Lucius managed to avoid the shot, but he was far less than amused. He put his hand back on Narcissa's hip to push her out of the way – she really didn't need to get hit by anything just because this man was an idiot – and returned the shot. It wasn't long before curses were going back and forth between the two, Narcissa still trying to get them to stop, but by now knowing better than to step between them. But that didn't stop either of them from ducking, or from curses ricocheting off furniture or other furnishings in the room. Lucius ducked one of the harsher curses from the doctor, firing back one of his own at his first chance. Xavier's curse hit the mantle at just the fight angle that it flew back into the fight, knocking Narcissa off her feet.


End file.
